Punjab-Haryana High Court
Rishi Pal And Others vs Haryana State Cooperative Supply & ... on 24 August, 2012
Author: Rakesh Kumar Garg
Bench: Rakesh Kumar Garg
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
Civil Writ Petition No.16307 of 2012
Date of decision: 24th August, 2012
Rishi Pal and others
Petitioners
Versus
Haryana State Cooperative Supply & Marketing Federation Limited
and another
Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAKESH KUMAR GARG
Present: Mr. R.K. Malik, Senior Advocate with
Mr. Vijay Dahiya, Advocate for the petitioners.
RAKESH KUMAR GARG, J.
The respondent, vide an advertisement No.3/2009 dated 28th February, 2009 (Annexure P-1) advertised various posts mentioned under different categories. In the above said advertisement, against Category No.10, 46 posts of Field Inspector (Store) were advertised. The essential qualifications for the said post, as advertised, are reproduced herein below:
"i) Graduate from recognized University.
ii) Minimum one year diploma in computer from the recognized University/ Institution.
iii) Hindi/ Sanskrit upto Matric Standard."
According to the averments made in this petition, the petitioners were duly eligible and thus, applied for the said post. It is the further case of the petitioners that considering them duly eligible they were interviewed and in the result declared they were selected within the advertised posts in their respective cadres. However, the petitioners were not offered appointments in spite of the fact that the candidates lower in merit than the petitioners were offered such appointments. It is the further case of the petitioners that Civil Writ Petition No.16307 of 2012 2 their claim was rejected vide order dated 3rd August, 2012 (Annexure P-8) giving no reasons.
Aggrieved from the aforesaid order (Annexure P-8), the petitioners have approached this Court by filing the instant writ petition.
Leaned counsel for the petitioners, while arguing that the petitioners are fully eligible as per the required qualifications, has referred to the documents (Annexures P-2 to P-7) according to which the petitioner No.1 has passed the Exam of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and has also obtained Diploma in Computer Application & Designing; whereas, petitioner No.2 is Bachelor of Computer Applications and has also passed Diploma in Computer Education and that the petitioner No.3 is Bachelor of Computer Application and also possesses Diploma in Information and System Management. It is the further case of the petitioners that they are possessing higher qualification in the same line and thus, they cannot be considered ineligible on the ground that they do not possess the minimum qualification prescribed for the said post in view of the settled principles of law in this regard.
I have heard learned counsel for the petitioners and perused the impugned order (Annexure P-8) and the other documents placed on record of this case.
It is not in dispute that in response to the applications filed by the petitioners, they were interviewed and they were also successful in the written examination. However, it may be noticed that while examining claim of the petitioners vide Annexure P-8, the competent authority has found that 14 candidates (including the petitioners) do not fulfill the prescribed minimum qualifications for the post as provided in the common cadre rules of The Haryana State Cooperative Supply And Marketing Federation Civil Writ Petition No.16307 of 2012 3 Limited, i.e. Graduate from recognized University and minimum one year Diploma in Computer from recognized University/ Institution.
Though, learned counsel for the petitioners has laid stress upon the documents (Annexures P-2 to P-7) before this Court to demonstrate that the petitioners are fully eligible, however, he could not dispute the fact that all the three petitioners were not having one year Diploma in Computer from a recognized University/ Institution at the time when they applied for the post. There is no such document on record to support the fact that the petitioners have acquired one year Diploma in Computer from a recognized University/ Institution at the time when they applied for the post. Counsel for the petitioners could not support the fact that the documents (Annexures P- 3, P-5 and P-7) as annexed with this petition, have been issued by any recognized University/Institution.
In view of this fact alone, this petition is liable to be dismissed, as the petitioners do not fulfill the qualification mentioned at Sr.No. (ii), i.e. minimum one year Diploma in Computer from the recognized University/ Institution, as per the advertisement.
Faced with this situation, learned counsel for the petitioners has relied upon a judgment rendered by a Division Bench of this Court in 'Ashok Kumar and others v. State of Haryana and others' (CWP No.10926 of 2007, decided on 21st December, 2007) to contend that it is well settled that if a person is having a higher qualification in the same line of education than the prescribed one for a particular post, he cannot be held to be ineligible.
There is no dispute with the aforesaid proposition of law as canvassed before this Court. However, in the instant case, this is not the question and the candidature of the petitioners has not been rejected on this Civil Writ Petition No.16307 of 2012 4 ground. As per the advertisement, the petitioners were required to have three qualifications i.e. i) Graduate from recognized University, ii) Minimum one year Diploma in Computer from the recognized University/ Institution, and iii) Hindi/ Sanskrit upto Matric Standard.
As per the discussion in the foregoing paragraphs of this judgment, the petitioners are not fulfilling the qualification of having minimum one year Diploma in Computer from the recognized University/ Institution out of the three requisite qualifications, and thus, it cannot be said that the petitioners, have the higher qualification in the same line and therefore, they also fulfill the said eligibility condition of having minimum one year Diploma in Computer from the recognized University/ Institution besides degree of Graduation.
In the last, counsel for the petitioners has vehemently argued that all the three petitioners are Graduate in Information Technology/Computer Application and the said qualifications fulfill the first two requisite qualifications, i.e. i) Graduate from recognized University and
ii) Minimum one year Diploma in Computer from the recognized University/ Institution, and thus, they are entitled to be considered as duly eligible for the post in question.
The argument raised is without any basis. The documents (Annexures P-9 and P-10) placed on record of this case do not find support to the contention of the petitioners in this regard.
At this stage, it may also be noticed that while deciding CWP No.14205 of 2012 titled as 'Vijay Kumar v. Haryana Staff Selection Commission' vide order dated 30th July, 2012, this Court had noticed a letter dated 22nd June, 2012 issued by the respondent No.1 categorically stating that an Engineering graduate having a Degree of B.Tech./ Civil Writ Petition No.16307 of 2012 5 B.Sc.(Engineering)/BE etc. fulfills only the first part of the minimum qualification and he is required to fulfill the second part of the qualification prescribed in the advertisement also.
For the reasons recorded above, I do not find any merit in this writ petition and thus, the same is dismissed.
(RAKESH KUMAR GARG) JUDGE August 24, 2012 rps