Central Administrative Tribunal - Cuttack
Satish Ranjan Samantray vs D/O Post on 1 May, 2025
1 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
CUTTACK BENCH, CUTTACK
O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019
Reserved on 29.04.2025 Pronounced on 01.05.2025
CORAM:
THE HON'BLE SHRI SUDHI RANJAN MISHRA, MEMBER (J)
THE HON'BLE SHRI PRAMOD KUMAR DAS, MEMBER (A)
Satish Ranjan Samantray, S/O Raghunandan
Samantray, aged about 33 years, B 1/3, Labour
Colony, Kharvel Nagar, Unit-III, Bhubaneswar
751001.
......Applicant
VERSUS
1. Union of India represented by the Director
General of Posts, Govt. Of India, Ministry of
Communications, Department of Post, Dak
Bhawan, New Delhi-110001.
2. Department of Posts represented by the Chief
Postmaster General, Odisha Circle, Bhubaneswar-
751001
3. Sr. Superintendent of Post Offices, Sundergarh
Division, Sundargarh-770001.
......Respondents
For the applicant : Mr. J.S.Samal, Counsel
For the respondents : Mr. R.K.Sahoo, Counsel
2 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019
O R D E R
PRAMOD KUMAR DAS, MEMBER (A):
Facts remain that the respondents vide Advertisement Notice No. S.Cell/1-RE/2014 (A/1) invited application from the intending outstanding sports persons in various sports disciplines for recruitment in relaxation of normal Recruitment Rules in the cadre of PA/Sa in the department of Posts, Odisha Circle and Carrom was one of the sports discipline. Besides fulfillment of other conditions, insofar as Academic Education is concerned it was notified that the candidates should have 10+2 pass minimum educational qualification (excluding vocational stream). Applicant was one of the candidates in the fray of selection having necessary certificates in Carrom discipline and approved for recruitment as PA in Odisha Circle allotted to Sundergarh Division under Sports Quota vide Circle Office Memo dated 19.01.2015 with instruction for issuance of offer of appointment to him after observing usual formalities including verification of educational and other certificates. The applicant was addressed to produce the required documents/certificates for verification, which he had submitted on 20.02.2015. The applicant 3 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019 produced Intermediate Passing Certificate, Marks Sheet and Migration Certificate issued by Jamia Urdu, Aligarh. The said certificate was sent to authorities concerned to find out the genuineness and as to whether Adeeb-e-Mahir Intermediate is equivalent to +2 standard or not? The authority concerned intimated that the educational certificate produced by the applicant is genuine. Insofar as equivalency with +2 is concerned, the Registrar, Jamia Urdu, Aligarh intimated vide letter dated 16.11.2015 that Adeeb-e- Mahir is equivalent to Intermediate but the Dy. Registrar, Academic, Aligarh Muslim University in letter dated 05.01.2016 intimated that there is nothing on record with Aligarh Muslim University to substantiate the recognition of Adeeb-e-Mahir certificate awarded by the Jamia Urdu, Aligarh for purpose of appointment of admission. Therefore, further clarification was sought from Circle Office Bhubaneswar vide letter dated 16.02.2016 and 02.03.2016. The AD(RE), Officer of the CPMG Odisha Bhubaneswar vide letter dated 24.01.2019 intimated that as per the Directorate letter dated 17.12.2018, the Adeeb-e-Mahir certificate course offered by Jamia Urdu Aligarh is not equivalent to +2 standard for the purpose of 4 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019 employment under Central Govt. as Adeeb-e-Mahir course is recognized for the purpose of employment to the posts which requires knowledge of Urdu of Intermediate standard as per O.M. No. 14021/2/78-Estt(D) dated 28..06.1978. Hence, AD (Sports and Secy, OCPSB), CO, BBSR was intimated by Resp. No. 3 vide letter dated 13.02.2019 that due to non-fulfilling of minimum educational qualification, i.e. 10+2 standard, by the applicant, he is not considered for appointment. It is the case of the applicant that since no offer of appointment or any communication after submission of the certificates was made to him, he sought information under RTI Act that he is not eligible to be appointed to the post, in question, since, Adeeb-e-Mahir course issued by the Jamia Urdu, Aligarh is not equivalent to 10+2 course. It is in the above contest, he has approached this Tribunal in the instant OA praying inter alia to give him appointment against the post of PA cadre under Sundargarh Division.
2. It is the stand of the applicant that insofar as academic educational qualification is concerned, in the Advertisement it was specifically stated that the candidate should have minimum 5 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019 educational qualification of +2 pass or any equivalent examination, which is awarded by any Board/University. He has passed Adeeb-e- Mahir from Jamia Urdu, Aligarh, which is equivalent to the knowledge of Urdu in Intermediate standard and, thus, is equivalent to 10+2 pass as per the Ministry of Home Affairs/Home Ministry (Department of Personnel and Administration Reforms) vide OM No. 14021/2/78 dated 28, June, 1978 and, therefore, denying him appointment to the post in question being a sports person after being selected is highly illegal, arbitrary and the said decision of the respondents is not sustainable in the eyes of law.
3. The case of the respondents is that acquiring the minimum educational qualification provided in the rules and advertisement is a pre-condition for appointment. In the advertisement, it was specifically stated that the candidates should have possessed the minimum education qualification (excluding vocational stream) 10+2 pass certificate. The applicant produced the certificate of Adeeb-e-Mahir from the Jamia Urdu, Aligarh. From the correspondences made with the University concerned, it could not come to the light that the said certificate acquired by the applicant is 6 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019 equivalent to 10+2 standard. Therefore, taking into account the existing instruction, the appointment in the post in question was denied to him, which cannot be faulted with.
4. Ld. Counsel for the applicant has taken us to the letter of the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi dated 28.06.1978 to satisfy us that the qualification acquired by him is equivalent to 10+2 standard and, therefore, denying him appointment under Sports Quota is highly illegal and arbitrary. On the other hand, Ld. Counsel for the respondents has submitted that there is no such express mention in the said letter that the certificate produced by the applicant is equivalent to 10+2 standard. It is further submitted by him that there is prayer in the OA to declare the said qualification as equivalent to 10+2 standard and, even if the same was prayed for by the applicant, this Tribunal lacks authority, competence and jurisdiction to make any such declaration. Further, the applicant did not challenge in this OA the letter dated 13.02.2019 wherein the decision was taken not to appoint the applicant due to lack in educational qualification even after filing of such letter by the Respondents through counter as Annexure-R/9.
7 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019
5. In the case of Unnikrishnan CV Vs. Union of India, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 343, the Hon'ble Apex Court took note of the another decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Guru Nanak Dev University Vs. Sanjay Kumar Katwal, (2009) 1 SCC 610, wherein it was reiterated that equivalence is a technical academic matter. It cannot be implied or assumed, and of Zahoor Ahmad Rather Vs. Imtiyaz Ahmad, (2019) 2 SCC 404, wherein it was held that Judicial review can neither expand the ambit of the prescribed qualifications nor decide the equivalence of the prescribed qualifications with any other given qualification. Thus, it is no more res integra that this Tribunal lacks any competence, authority and jurisdiction to decide the equivalency of the certificate of Adeeb-e-Mahir from the Jamia Urdu, Aligarh produced by the applicant to that of 10+2 pass.
6. We find that the Ministry of Home Affairs letter vide OM No. 14021/2/78 dated 28, June, 1978 has been led as the foundation on the entire matter to substantiate that the qualification he has acquired is equivalent to that of 10+2, which was denied by the respondents. On microscopic examination of the aforesaid OM No. 8 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019 14021/2/78, dated June 28, 1978, we find that this is an Office Memorandum issued by the Government of India's Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms) recognizing the courses of Jamia Urdu Aligarh. This recognition specifically acknowledges the "Adeeb" and "Adeeb-e-Mahir"
examinations offered by Jamia Urdu for the purposes of employment in roles requiring Urdu language proficiency. Nowhere it has been provided that the qualification of Adeeb-e-Mahir of Jamia Urdu Aligarh is equivalent to that of 10+2 pass. After going through the conditions stipulated in the advertisement, we do not find any substance on the submission of the applicant that the candidate should have possess the minimum educational qualification of 10+2 pass or "any equivalent qualification which is awarded by any board or university". It is a well known principle that the statement "Public orders, publicly made, must be understood as a decision" emphasizes that a public order's meaning is determined by its public expression, not by the individual officer's later explanations of their intentions. This principle is crucial in administrative law, ensuring that public orders are interpreted objectively based on their text, not 9 O.A.No. 260/00545 of 2019 on the officer's subjective understanding [Ref: Mohinder Singh Gill & Anr Vs The Chief Election Commissioner, 1978 AIR 851]. Since, the OM referred to above is conspicuously silent what has been stated by the applicant in the OA, we see no force on the said submission of the applicant. In view of the discussions made above, we do not find any infirmity or illegality in the decision of the respondents.
7. In the result, this OA stands dismissed by leaving the parties to bear their own costs.
(Pramod Kumar Das) (Sudhi Ranjan Mishra) Member (Admn.) Member (Judl.) RK/PS