Central Administrative Tribunal - Kolkata
Dwaipayan Ghosh vs Posts on 16 May, 2024
1 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
KOLKATA BENCH
KOLKATA
DATE OF HEARING : 06.05.2024
DATE OF JUDGMENT : 16.05.2024
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Jayesh V. Bhairavia, Judicial Member
Hon'ble Mr. Suchitto Kumar Das, Administrative Member
In the matter of :
O.A. 350/01060/2023
Ankan Garai,
Son of Bijoy Krishna Garai, Residing at Village & PO- Kalipahari,
PS- Bhatar, Dist.- Purba Burdwan, Pin- 713520.
Subject- Appointment.
.............Applicant
O.A. 350/01061/2023
Dwaipayan Ghosh,
Son of Sujit Kumar Ghosh, Residing at Village -Gurupally
Paschim, PO- Santiniketan, PS- Bolpur, Dist.- Birbhum, Pin-
731235.
Subject- Appointment.
.............Applicant
VS.
1. Union of India service through the Secretary, Department
of Posts & Chairperson, Postal Services Board, Ministry of
Communications, Government of India, Dak Bhawan, Sansad
Marg, New Delhi- 110001.
2. The Director General (Posts), Department of Posts,
Ministry of Communications, Government of India, Dak Bhawan,
Sansad Marg, New Delhi- 110001.
3. The Assistant Director General (GDS/PCC/PAP),
Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government
of India, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001.
2 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023
4. The Hon'ble Vice Chancellor, Visva Bharati University,
Santiniketan, PO Santiniketan, District- Birbhum, West Bengal-
731236.
5. The Hon'ble Pro Vice Chancellor, Visva Bharati University,
Santiniketan, PO Santiniketan, District- Birbhum, West Bengal-
731236.
6. The Registrar, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, PO-
Santiniketan, District- Birbhum, West Bengal- 731236.
.........Respondents
For The Applicant(s): Md. H. Zaman, Counsel
Md. Z. Zaman, Counsel
For The Respondent(s): Ms. E. Banerjee, Counsel
ORDER
Per: Hon'ble Suchitto Kumar Das, Administrative Member Due to parity in the nature of grievance and facts pleaded, OA/350/01060/2023 and OA/350/1061/2023 are being heard out analogously, upon due notice, to be disposed of by this common order, with consent of all the sides.
2. The applicants in OA/350/01060/2023 and OA/350/1061/2023 have approached this Tribunal under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 praying for the following common relief:
"(a) To consider and treat the representation dated 08.08.2023 made by the applicant as a proper application to the post of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) for the vacancies announced by Notification No. 17-67/2023-GDS dated 31.07.2023 released by Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, and to allow the applicant to participate in the application process for the said post and subsequently communicate to the applicant his application number for future reference.
(b) To include the name of "Visva Bharati School Board" under Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan in the list of Matriculation Boards in the 3 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 Government portal for applying to the post of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) for the vacancies announced by Notification No. 17-67/2023-GDS dated 31.07.2023 released by Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
(c) any other order or orders, direction or directions as Your Lordships may deem fit and proper."
3. For the sake of brevity, the facts of OA/350/01060/2023 (Ankan Garai) are being delineated and discussed hereunder :
3.1 Notification inviting online application from eligible applicants for selection of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) was issued by Postal Directorate on 31.07.2023. Scheduled date for registration and submission of online applications by candidates was from 03.08.2023 to 23.08.2023. 3.2 For the purpose of applying for GDS post, the applicant needed to register in the online GDS engagement portal. The applicant contended that there was a drop down list in the online portal for selection of the Board from which the applicant has passed his Matriculation. This drop down list did not have the name of "Visva Bharati School Board". As the applicant had passed his Secondary School Examination from "Visva Bharati School", he could not apply online for the post. He represented to the authorities for inclusion of "Visva Bharati School Board" in the drop down list of recognized Boards.
3.3 On not receiving a positive response from the authorities, he approached this Tribunal by filing this OA. After hearing the Learned Counsel for the applicant, the Tribunal passed the following order on 18.08.2023 :-
"......................
6. Under the circumstances, we are of the considered opinion, the applicant has made out a prima facie case for grant of interim relief. Therefore, by way of ad- interim relief, we allow the applicant to submit his application in response to the notification dated 31.07.2023 and the respondents are directed to accept the application of the applicant through offline mode or to make an arrangement to 4 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 accept his application through online before the last date of submission of application.
7. We make it clear that allowing the appointment to submit his application does not create any right for appointment in his favour. The interim arrangement is subject to the outcome of this OA.
.........................."
Respondents filed a writ petition in the Hon'ble High Court against the above order of the Tribunal granting ad-interim relief to the applicant herein. Hon'ble High Court, by its order dated 06.02.2024 in CO. CT 1 of 2024 with IA No. CAN 1 of 2024, refused to interfere with the Tribunal's order dated 18.08.2023.
4. Learned Counsel for the applicant submits that despite fulfilling all the eligibility criteria for the post of GDS, the applicant was not able to apply online only because the name of his Matriculation Board did not appear in the list of Matriculation Boards in the Government portal for applying for the post of GDS. There is no fault on the part of the applicant but the applicant is being deprived of his legitimate rights to apply for the post. He submits that the applicant was a bonafide student of "Visva Bharati School Board" under Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. The applicant has duly passed the School Certificate Examination 2020 (Class X-regular) from the "Visva Bharati School Board" under Visva Bharati University.
4.1 Learned Counsel for the applicant submits that non-inclusion of the name of "Visva Bharati School Board" under Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan in the list of Matriculation Boards in the concerned government portal for applying to the post of GDS has prevented the applicant from getting equal opportunity and right to apply to the said post. 4.2 Learned Counsel for the applicant further submits that Visva Bharati Authorities have confirmed to the respondents that Visva Bharati School Board is authorized to issue Secondary School Examination Certificates to its 5 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 students. However, the authorities did not pay any heed to Visva Bharati's letters in this regard.
4.3 Learned Counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant filed his online application successfully for the post of MTS notified by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) by mentioning in the said application that he possessed the Secondary School Examination Certificate from Visva Bharati School Board. The said application was accepted by SSC. 4.4 Learned Counsel further submits that West Bengal Higher Secondary (WBHS) Council has listed Visva Bharati School Board as an equivalent Board on its website. Since WBHS Council is a State Government organization, its recognition of Visva Bharati as an equivalent Board proves that Visva Bharati is recognized by the West Bengal State Government. As per the employment notification for GDS, the candidate should have passed his Secondary School Examination from a Board recognized by the Central/State or UT Government. Therefore, the respondents should lawfully include the name of Visva Bharati School Board as one of the Boards in the pull down list of Matriculation Boards in their application form.
5. Per contra, Learned counsel for the respondents submits that as per para 5.2(1) of Notification issued under Memo no. 17-67/2023-GDS dated 31.07.2023, "Secondary School Examination pass Certificate of 10th standard having passed in Mathematics and English (having been studied as compulsory or elective subjects) conducted by any recognized Board of School Education by the Government of India/State Governments/Union Territories in India shall be a mandatory educational qualification for all approved categories of GDS". The list of recognized board was configured in accordance with Postal Directorate letter dated 21.01.2022 through which the list of 6 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 recognized Board was forwarded. As per the Department of Education, Government of West Bengal, Visva Bharati does not appear in the list of recognized boards of Secondary Education . The names of three recognized Boards in West Bengal are as under -
(i) West Bengal Board of Secondary Education,
(ii) West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling,
(iii) West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education.
Learned Counsel for the respondents further submits that the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India recognized the following Boards in West Bengal -
(i) West Bengal Board of Secondary Education,
(ii) West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education,
(iii) West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling,
(iv) West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education.
5.1 Learned Counsel for the respondents submits that the Vice Chancellor, Visva Bharati University was requested, vide letter dated 09.05.2017, to provide a copy of letter of recognition of Madhyamik Board of the Visva Bharati University with details of the Board with subjects in Matriculation examination along with full marks and pass marks. In reply, the Dy. Registrar, Visva Bharati University stated that Visva Bharati is a Central University established by the Parliament of India under Visva Bharati Act XXIX of 1951 vide Notification dated 14.05.1951 without specifically giving details of recognition of its Secondary School Examination Certificate by either the Central or the State Government.
7 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/20235.2 Learned Counsel for the respondents submits that in addition, an authenticated list of recognized boards in India was published by Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India on 04.07.2017 in which the name of Visva Bharati University was not included. Further, an order was issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India vide Memo dated 24.12.2021 mentioning the recognized boards of Secondary Education in India. This order also did not include the name of Visva Bharati. 5.3 Learned Counsel for the respondents submits that the Commissioner of School Education, Government of West Bengal was requested to provide a list of recognized boards of Secondary School Education, Government of West Bengal vide office letter dated 03.01.2022. In reply Government of West Bengal informed on 05.01.2022 that West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling and West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education are the only recognized Boards in the state of West Bengal dealing with Secondary Education. In response to Visva Bharati's letter dated 10.05.2022 requesting to include the name of Visva Bharati in the list of recognized Boards/Council in the employment advertisements, the respondents informed Visva Bharati that the authenticated list of the recognised boards in India by the Government of India, Ministry of HRD, vide no. 11-3/2016 Sch 3 dated 04.07.2017 does not include 'Visva Bharati' and they were requested to take up the matter with Ministry of HRD for necessary action.
5.4 Learned Counsel for the respondents submits that since 'Visva Bharati' was not a recognized Board, it was not available in the drop down list in the online application form in GDS online Engagement Portal (Schedule II). 8 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 5.5 Learned Counsel for the respondents concludes that since the applicant did not pass his 10th class examination from a recognized Board, he is not entitled to apply for the post of GDS.
6. Heard both sides. Perused the documents on record.
6.1 Relevant part of the employment notification issued by the respondents is as below :-
"5.2. QUALIFICATION AS ON THE DATE OF NOTIFICATION :
(1) EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION :
(a) Secondary School Examination pass Certificate of 10th standard having passed in Mathematics and English (having been studied as compulsory of elective subjects) conducted by any recognized Board of School Education by the Government of India/ State Governments/ Union Territories in India shall be a mandatory educational qualification for all approved categories of GDS.
..........................."
The notification has unambiguously laid down that the applicants must possess the educational qualification of Secondary School Examination pass Certificate from a Board recognized by the Central/State/ Union Territories Governments.
6.2 In the instant case, from a list of recognized Boards supplied by the Ministry of HRD, it is seen that Visva Bharati is not listed as one of the recognized Boards. Similarly, as per letter issued by the Department of Education, Government of West Bengal, Visva Bharati is not recognized as a Board for conducting Secondary School Examination by the Government of West Bengal. The applicant has not produced any evidence to prove that Visva Bharati is recognized as a Board for conducting Secondary School Examination by any State or Union Territory. The applicant has placed on record a print out of a list of Boards considered as equivalent Boards by the 9 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 West Bengal Higher Secondary Council, published on its website. WBHS Council is not the competent authority to recognize a Board on behalf of the Government.
6.3 In the instant case, Government of West Bengal's Department of Education has confirmed to the respondents that Visva Bharati is not recognized by them for the purpose of conducting Secondary School Examination. It is also noted that the issue in this case is regarding the recognition of Secondary School Board. Applicant's reliance on the contents of the website of the WBHS Council, which conducts Higher Secondary Examination, is of no assistance to the applicant.
6.4 It is noted from the affidavit in reply filed by the respondents that for the past several years, the respondents have proactively made efforts to obtain the list of recognized Boards for Secondary School Examination. They have obtained the names of such Boards from the Central Government and the State Government. They even contacted Visva Bharati authorities seeking details of recognition of their Secondary School Board by the Government. Visva Bharati authorities, however, replied to the respondents seeking inclusion of their Board in the list of recognized Boards instead of approaching the appropriate department of the Government for a formal recognition of their Secondary School Board. Respondents are not the authority competent to accord recognition to a Board on behalf of the Government. As per the employment notification, the respondents are merely expected to go by the list of Boards recognized by the appropriate Department in the Central or the State/Union Territories Government. 10 OA 1060/2023 & OA 1061/2023 6.5 The applicant has also relied on the fact that his application for the post of MTS was accepted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on the basis of the same credentials. He has placed on record a copy of the online application submitted to SSC mentioning Visva Bharati as the Board from which he passed the Class-X examination. Mere submission of an online application to SSC does not imply that the SSC has recognized the veracity of all the entries made in that application. The applicant has not filed any proof that the candidature of the applicant was approved by SSC after scrutiny of the application. In the circumstances, in our view, mere filing of online application with SSC for the post of MTS cannot be of any assistance to the applicant. 6.6 Respondents have not only scrupulously adhered to the terms of the employment notification, they have adequately explained the reason for not including the name of Visva Bharati in the list of recognized Boards displayed in the online application form. We find no legal infirmity in the respondents' action in denying the applicant the opportunity to file his application online on the ground that Visva Bharati, from where the applicant has passed his Class-X examination, is not a Board recognized by the Government.
7. OAs stand dismissed being devoid of merit. Interim order, if any, stands vacated. No costs.
(Suchitto Kumar Das) (Jayesh V. Bhairavia) Administrative Member Judicial Member sl