New Delhi, April 28 : The city government on Monday told the Delhi High Court that it has lifted the ban on the issuance of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) certificates in the national capital.

The submission was made before a bench of Justice Sachin Datta, as it dealt with a petition challenging the Delhi government's directive to stop the issuance of all EWS certificates indefinitely.

Because of the impugned decision, the petitioner faced difficulty in applying to the advertised post of Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

As per the advertisement, the UPSC has reserved six out of 66 vacancies for the post of APP for EWS candidates.

In relief to the petitioner, the Delhi HC allowed him to participate in the recruitment process (as of now) without any EWS certificate, in view of the fact that the last date of submission of the application form is May 1.

The single-judge b ench of Justice Datta clarified that the petitioner would produce his EWS certificate at the relevant stage, as per advocate Ashu Bidhuri.

The petition contended that the Delhi government, pursuant to a meeting held on April 9, issued a directive to stop the issuance of all EWS certificates indefinitely "without any statutory notification, legal basis, or transparent procedure, allegedly due to apprehensions regarding misuse or irregularities".

As a result, the petitioner and other similarly placed genuine applicants, applying for the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor, are being denied access to a constitutional benefit enshrined under Articles 15(6) and 16(6) of the Constitution, the plea added.

"The impugned directive, lacking any formal legal sanction, amounts to a blanket prohibition on a welfare measure enacted by Parliament, thereby violating the constitutional scheme of separation of powers. It constitutes executive overreach, frustrates the intent of the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019, and infringes upon the petitioner's rights under Articles 14, 16, 19(1)(g), and 21 of the Constitution," contended the petition.

It prayed to quash the executive directive halting the issuance of EWS certificates and sought a direction to the authorities concerned to issue the petitioner a valid EWS certificate in a time-bound manner to enable him to apply for the reserved post.

/IANS