Uttarakhand High Court
Rahul Saini vs State Of Uttarakhand & Others on 12 February, 2019
Author: R.C. Khulbe
Bench: Ramesh Ranganathan, R.C. Khulbe
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL
Writ Petition (S/B) No.583 of 2018
Rahul Saini ............Petitioner
Vs.
State of Uttarakhand & Others .........Respondents
With
Writ Petition (S/B) No.582 of 2018
Monika Verma ............Petitioner
Vs.
State of Uttarakhand .........Respondents
With
Writ Petition (S/B) No.584 of 2018
Sanjeev Kumar ............Petitioner
Vs.
State of Uttarakhand & Others .........Respondents
And
Writ Petition (S/B) No.596 of 2018
Sheetal Deshwal ............Petitioner
Vs.
State of Uttarakhand & Others .........Respondents
Dated: 12th February, 2019
Coram: Hon'ble Ramesh Ranganathan, C.J.
Hon'ble R.C. Khulbe, J.
Hon'ble Ramesh Ranganathan, C.J. (Oral)
1. Heard Mr. Parikshit Saini and Mr. Tapan Singh, learned Counsel for the petitioners, Mr. C.S. Rawat, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State, Mr. B.D. Kandpal with Mr. Ashish Joshi, 2 learned Standing Counsel for the Public Service Commission and Mr. Vipul Sharma, learned Counsel for the IIT, Roorkee.
2. In all these four writ petitions, the petitioners secured their post-graduate degree in Applied Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. Pursuant to a requisition made by the Govt. of Uttarakhand, to select eligible candidates for appointment to the posts of Assistant Professors in various degree colleges in the State, the State Public Service Commission invited applications, among others, for the posts of Assistant Professors (Mathematics) from candidates who had obtained their M.Sc. Degree in Mathematics from a recognized University. On the ground that the petitioners had obtained their post- graduate degree in Applied Mathematics, and the requisition made by the Govt. of Uttarakhand was to fill up the posts of Assistant Professors (Mathematics) only with candidates who possess a post-graduate degree in Mathematics, the petitioners' applications were rejected. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioners invoked the jurisdiction of this Court by way of these writ petitions.
3. An interim order was passed by a Division Bench of this Court on 17.11.2018 in three writ petitions (WPSB Nos.583/18, 582/18 and 584/18), and in WPSB No.596 of 2018 on 20.11.2018, whereby the following interim order was passed: -
(i) "All the petitioners shall be permitted to participate in the interview scheduled to be held on 26th and 27th November, 2018. However, their results shall not be declared pending further orders from this Court.
(ii) Respondent nos. 1 & 2 shall undertake the exercise of determining, whether the M.Sc. (Applied Mathematics) post graduate degrees obtained by the petitioners are equivalent to the M.Sc. (Mathematics) post graduate degree prescribed as the qualification for being considered for appointment as Assistant Professors in various Government Degree Colleges in the State of Uttarakhand.
(iii) While undertaking this exercise, respondent nos. 1 & 2 shall also bear in mind that the post graduate degrees in Applied Mathematics obtained by all the three petitioners is from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
(iv) The exercise of determining the equivalence shall be undertaken and completed within three weeks from today, and a report shall be submitted to this Court by the next date of hearing."3
4. In compliance with the aforesaid interim order, the State Public Service Commission has permitted all the petitioners to appear and participate in the selection process for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor (Mathematics) in government degree colleges in the State of Uttarakhand.
5. A supplementary counter affidavit is filed by the Director, Directorate of Higher Education, Govt. of Uttarakhand, sworn on 8.2.2019, wherein it is stated that a meeting was convened on 9.1.2019 under the Chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department, Uttarakhand Govt. for deciding the equivalence of M.Sc. (Applied Mathematics) offered by IIT Roorkee, and M.Sc. (Mathematical Science) offered by Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, with the M.Sc. degree programmes of other Universities of the State of Uttarakhand; the Committee thoroughly went through the Course programme/syllabus of M.Sc. (Applied Mathematics) offered by IIT Roorkee, and M.Sc. (Mathematical Science) offered by Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, with the M.Sc. degree programmes of other Universities of the State of Uttarakhand; and, considering the facts, the Committee was of the opinion that M.Sc. (Applied Mathematics) offered by IIT Roorkee and M.Sc. (Mathematical Science) offered by Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, were equivalent to M. Sc. (mathematics) offered by the Universities in the State of Uttarakhand.
6. In its counter affidavit, the State Public Service Commission has stated that Applied Mathematics is neither prescribed in the Service Rules nor is it mentioned in the requisition; the Public Service Commission could not, therefore, have treated the same as the requisite qualification; the Commission has no authority to compare the equivalence of academic qualifications; and, as the petitioners did not possess the requisite qualification of M.Sc. (Mathematics), they were declared ineligible for being considered for appointment to the post of Assistant Professors.
7. The State Public Service Commission cannot be faulted for not considering the candidature of the petitioners, in as much as the 4 requisition made to them, by the Govt. of Uttarakhand, was to fill up the posts of Assistant Professors (Mathematics) with candidates who possessed a post-graduate degree in Mathematics. As it is the State Government which has issued the requisition to the Public Service Commission, the power to determine equivalence of educational qualification lies only with them, and not with the Public Service Commission.
8. The Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand and other officials, in their meeting held on 9.1.2019, have now held that M.Sc. (Applied Mathematics) course offered by IIT Roorkee, and M.Sc. (Mathematical Science) course offered by Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, are equivalent to the M.Sc. (Mathematics) course offered by other Universities in the State of Uttarakhand. Consequently, the petitioners, who have obtained their post-graduate degree in Applied Mathematics from IIT, Roorkee, are eligible to be considered for appointment to the post of Assistant Professors (Mathematics) in various degree colleges of the State of Uttarakhand.
9. As noted hereinabove, in terms of the interim order passed by this Court, all the petitioners have been permitted to appear in the interview conducted by the Public Service Commission. However, their results are yet to be declared. The State Government has now concluded that M.Sc. (Applied Mathematics) offered by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee is equivalent to the M.Sc.(Mathematics) course offered by various Universities in the State of Uttarakhand. The petitioners are, therefore, eligible to be considered for selection and appointment to the posts of Assistant Professors (Mathematics) in various government colleges in the State. The Public Service Commission is, therefore, directed to declare the result of the interview in so far as the petitioners are concerned and, in case they are found to have qualified, to recommend their candidature to the Government of Uttarakhand for appointment as Assistant Professors (Mathematics) in government degree colleges in the State.
510. Before parting with the case, we need to take note of the submission of Mr. B.D. Kandpal, learned Standing Counsel for the Public Service Commission, that an amendment to the Service Rules would ensure that candidates who possess a post-graduate degree in Applied Mathematics from IIT, Roorkee, and M.Sc. (Mathematical Sciences) offered by Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan are also considered in future for selection to the post of Assistant Professor (Mathematics) in the government degree colleges in the State, instead of forcing them to avail their judicial remedies. It is not necessary for us to issue any directions in this regard in the light of the assurance of Mr. C.S. Rawat, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand, that the State Government would consider amendment of the Rules in the light of the recommendations of the Committee in its meeting held on 9.1.2019.
11. All the writ petitions are, accordingly, disposed of. No costs. (Pending applications also stand disposed of) (R.C. Khulbe, J.) (Ramesh Ranganathan, C.J.) Rdang/Balwant