Allahabad High Court
Pramod Kumar And 16 Others vs State Of U.P. And 5 Others on 13 November, 2019
Author: Ashwani Kumar Mishra
Bench: Ashwani Kumar Mishra
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD Court No. - 38 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 1782 of 2019 Petitioner :- Pramod Kumar And 16 Others Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Siddharth Khare,Ashok Khare, Sr. Advocate Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,A.S.G.I.,Kailash Singh Kushwaha,Kaushlesh Pratap Singh Hon'ble Ashwani Kumar Mishra,J.
1. Petitioners are ex-servicemen. They have applied for appointment to the post of Village Development Officer pursuant to Advertisement No.3 of 2016, published by U.P. Subordinate Service Selection Commission, Lucknow, against 5% quota meant for ex-servicemen. The advertisement specifies minimum eligibility for appointment to the post in question as Intermediate Examination, conducted by U.P. Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad in Science or Agriculture Stream or any other qualification held equivalent thereto, as also a Certificate Course in Computer Concept (commonly referred to as ''CCC' Certificate). The dispute in the present writ petition relates to possessing of ''CCC' Certificate by the petitioners as they have otherwise been selected by the Commission and their recommendation for appointment appears to be withheld at the level of the State Government on the question as to whether petitioners' ''CCC' Certificate meets the requirement in law.
2. The appointment to the post in question is regulated by the provisions of the U.P. Gramya Vikas (Gram Sevak) Seva Niyamawali, 1980, which does not refer to any requirement of possessing ''CCC' Certificate. Rule 8 of the Rules of 1980 prescribes educational qualification required for appointment to the post in question and the same is extracted hereinafter:-
"8- शौक्षिक अर्हताएं- सेवा में सीधी भर्ती के लिए यह आवश्यक है कि अभ्यर्थी ने विज्ञान या कृषि के साथ माध्यमिक शिक्षा परिषद्, उत्तर प्रदेश की इंटरमीडिएट परीक्षा या राज्यपाल द्वारा उसके समक्ष मान्यता प्राप्त कोई परीक्षा उत्तीर्ण की हो।"
There exists no requirement of possessing ''CCC' Certificate for appointment to the post of Village Development Officer in the rules.
3. While serving the Armed Forces the petitioners undertook Certificate Course in Computer Concept through a private agency and their ''CCC' Certificates are annexed as Annexure-14 to the writ petition. The writ petitioners have also annexed a report of the Directorate General of Resettlement, Ministry of Defence, on resettlement of ex-servicemen dated 4.8.2017, which forms part of the Thirty-third report submitted to the Standing Committee on Defence, presented to Lok Sabha on 10.8.2017 and laid before the Rajya Sabha on 9.8.2017, which emphasized the need to provide training to ex-servicemen in order to generate necessary skill in them for providing a second career to them after their retirement from defence services, at a relatively early age. The relevant extract of the report, annexed alongwith the writ petition would merit reference at this stage, and is accordingly reproduced hereinafter:-
"About 55,000-60,000 Armed Forces personnel retire every year at a relatively young age and require a second career. They constitute a very valuable, well-trained and dedicated talent pool. To take care of their need for resettlement in civil life, Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) conducts various training courses and prepares them for a second career. Majority of these resettlement courses are oversubscribed reflecting their popularity. ........."
4. The different courses that have been found desirable for training to be imparted to ex-servicemen for a second career includes Certificate Course in Computer Concept (''CCC'). It is with this intent that the Directorate General has entered into an agreement with the private agency for imparting ''CCC' Training to ex-servicemen. The report in that regard also reveals that a specified minimum amount is also paid by the Central Government towards training to the private institutes which render Computer Training (''CCC') to the ex-servicemen concerned.
5. Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners has placed reliance upon a Division Bench judgment of this Court in Special Appeal No.585 of 2018 (Deepak Sharma and 5 Others Vs. State of U.P. and 23 Others), wherein the Division Bench has taken note of the nature of ''CCC' Course as also its relevance for the purposes of recruitment where elementary awareness of computer is insisted upon by the employer. The observation of the Division Bench in that regard is relevant for the present purposes and is extracted hereinafter:-
"Heard learned counsels appearing on behalf of rival parties. At the threshold, it would be appropriate to state that the employer after accepting the judgment given by learned Single Bench has prepared a fresh select list and, while doing so, the certificate issued by DOEACC relating to "CCC" has not been taken into consideration. The only aspect that has been taken into consideration by the employer is knowledge of the aspirant to access computer and this assessment is made on basis of the qualification possessed by them in High School or Intermediate. The appellants are also persons who possessed ITI qualification wherein too a basic knowledge of computer operation is warranted, but that has not been taken into consideration.
While keeping in mind the fact stated above, we deem it appropriate to understand nature of "CCC" conducted by DOEACC. As per the details available on the official website of the NIELIT, the details of the Course on Computer Concepts (CCC) is as follows:-
"Introduction: This course is designed to aim at imparting a basic level IT Literacy programme for the common man. This programme has essentially been conceived with an idea of giving an opportunity to the common man to attain computer literacy thereby contributing to increased and speedy PC penetration in different walks of life. After completing the course the incumbent should be able to the use the computer for basic purposes of preparing his personnel/business letters, viewing information on internet (the web), receiving and sending mails, preparing his business presentations, preparing small databases etc. This helps the small business communities, housewives, etc. to maintain their small accounts using the computers and enjoy in the world of Information Technology. This course is, therefore, designed to be more practical oriented.
Eligibility: The candidates can appear in the NIELIT CCC Examination through following three modes and the eligibility criteria for each mode are indicated against each:
2.1 Candidates sponsored by NIELIT approved Institutes permitted to conduct CCC Course - irrespective of any educational qualifications;
2.2 Candidates sponsored by Government recognized Schools/ Colleges having obtained an Unique Identity number from NIELIT for conducting CCC - irrespective of any educational qualifications; and 2.3 Direct Applicants (without essentially undergoing the Accredited Course or without being sponsored by a Govt. recognised School/ College) - irrespective of any educational qualification; Duration: The total duration of the course is 80 hours, consisting of
i)Theory 25 hours
ii)Tutorials 5hours
iii)Practicals 50hours The course could ideally be a two weeks intensive course."
The introduction quoted above indicates that the Course on Computer Concepts (CCC) is designed to fulfill the beginner level computer literacy and that can be undertaken by a person at his own also. The only requirement is that he must get the same verified by NIELIT (formerly known as "DOEACC Society"). In the case in hand, it is not in dispute that the eligibility as per the applicable rules was that the incumbent must have CCC certificate or equivalent thereto. There was no need to have CCC certificate from DOEACC or its successor body NIELIT. True it is, the employer adopted the concept regarding computer literacy from DOEACC/NIELIET, but there was no need to have such qualification from DOEACC or its successor body. The only issue was to assess equivalence with the required basic knowledge of computer operations. The appellants by their self-certification declared and certified about basic knowledge of computer operations. Such certification may be alien for the advance knowledge of computer applications and operations but for preliminary knowledge of computer literacy such certification can very well be made by a person who is otherwise having a qualification of ITI in addition to their other eligibility qualification. Course on Computer Concepts (CCC) as per the introduction given by NIELIT is nothing but an effort made to make the Indian people even illiterate aware with computer literacy. In current days, such basic literacy is available with most of the people in every region of the country including the rural areas. It would also be appropriate to state that to have such basic computer literacy there is no need to have even minimum formal education and even an illiterate person can satisfy the requirement of CCC.
Learned Single bench considered the qualification of CCC as an expertise in the computer application which, as matter of fact, is nothing but a most preliminary knowledge in the field concerned. In other words, it can be said that requirement of the employer was to have the persons at least with minimum knowledge of computer concepts and the person applying must be computer literate. In present days, computer literacy is just equivalent to letter literacy in earlier days. For letter literacy, self-certification was always acceptable and in line of the same, the computer literacy on self-certification can very well be accepted. In this factual background, we are of considered opinion that the employer did not commit any wrong while having a declaration on basis of self-certification for computer literacy equivalent to CCC.
In entirety, we are of considered opinion that learned Single Bench utterly failed to understand the nature of Course on Computer Concepts (CCC)."
6. Viewed in light of the specific service rules i.e. the Rules of 1980, as also the advertisement no.3 of 2016 published by the Commission, this Court finds that there exists no specific requirement for a candidate to possess ''CCC' Certificate from NIELIT, as an eligibility condition for appointment to the post in question. The records otherwise reveal that the recruitment agency i.e. U.P. Subordinate Service Selection Commission has found all the petitioners eligible and suitable for appointment but their candidature for appointment is withheld awaiting further clarification from the State Government.
7. A supplementary affidavit has been filed on behalf of petitioners, wherein a letter sent by U.P. Subordinate Service Selection Commission to the Commissioner, Rural Development U.P. dated 6th September, 2019 is annexed, which refers to a meeting held by the Commission on 19.8.2019 regarding consideration of candidature of 52 ex-servicemen for appointment to the post in question. Reference is made to a Government Order dated 28.4.1992, which confers power upon the State to relax eligibility conditions in specified cases. The candidature of all the petitioners, accordingly, has been forwarded to the Commissioner, Rural Development, U.P. Lucknow. During the course of submission, attention of the Court has been invited to a communication sent by the Commissioner, Rural Development, U.P. Lucknow dated 27.9.2019, which provides that ''CCC' Certificate of the ex-servicemen since are not issued by NIELIT, as such they are not in accordance with applicable Government instructions, and would therefore not make the petitioners eligible for appointment itself.
8. Sri Piyush Shukla, learned State Counsel submits that since the ''CCC' Certificates possessed by the petitioners are not from NIELIT, as such the State Government has acted within its jurisdiction and in accordance with law in declining consideration to petitioners' claim for appointment to the post in question. Reliance is also placed by Sri Shukla upon a Government Order dated 23rd September, 2016, which is reproduced hereinafter:-
"mi;qZDr fc"k;d lela[;d 'kklukns'k fnukad 03@06 ebZ] 2016 dk d`i;k lnHkZ xzg.k djsa] ftlds ek/;e ls dfu"B lgk;d ,oa vk'kqfyfid ds inkssa ij p;u gsrq Mh-vks-bZ-,-lh-lh- ¼Mks;d½ lkslkbZVh }kjk iznRr lh-lh-lh- izek.k i= dh led{krk ds lEcU/k esa 'kklu }kjk fuEuor~ fu.kZ; fy;k x;k Fkk %& ¼1½ ek/;fed f'k{kk ifj"kn~] mRrj izns'k ds lkFk&lkFk dsUnz vFkok fdlh jkT; ljdkj }kjk LFkkfir fdlh laLFkk@f'k{kk cksMZ@ifj"kn~ }kjk lapkfyr gkbZLdwy vFkok b.VehfM,V ijh{kk esa i`Fkd fc"k; ds :i esa dEI;wVj lkbUl fc"k; dks fy;k x;k gksA ¼2½ ;fn fdlh vH;FkhZ }kjk dEI;wVj lkbUl esa fMIyksek vFkok fMxzh izkIr dh xbZ gks rks og Hkh dfu"B lgk;d@vk'kqfyfid ds inksa ij HkrhZ gsrq ik= gksxkA 2- bl lEcU/k esa eq>s ;g dgus dk funs'k gqvk gS fd ,slh leLr jkT;k/khu yksd lsokvkssa vkSj inksa] ftu ij] Mh-vks-bZ-,-lh-lh- ¼Mks;d½ lkslkbZVh ¼ifjofrZr uke NIELIT-National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology½ }kjk iznRr lh-lh-lh- izek.k i= visf{kr gS] ds laanHkZ esa Hkh mi;qZDr izLrj&1 esa mfYyf[kr O;oLFkk izHkkoh gksxhA rRdze esa ekU;rk izkIr f'k{kk cksMksZ@ifj"knksa dh lwph iqu% layXu dh tk jgh gS] lkFk gh ,slh laLFkk,Wa] tks ek/;fed f'k{kk ifj"kn] m0iz0] bykgkckn }kjk ekU; ugha gS] dh lwph Hkh layXu dh tk jgh gSA"
9. Submission advanced on behalf of respondents is not liable to be accepted in view of the settled legal position that employment to an office under the State has to be offered in accordance with the applicable service rules and must also be in conformity with the advertisement issued for recruitment itself. The applicable Service Rules of 1980 have already been referred to above, as per which the only qualification required for appointment to the post in question is possessing of Intermediate in Science or Agriculture Stream or an equivalent qualification thereto. The service rules have not been amended to include possessing of ''CCC' Certificate from a specified agency. The advertisement pursuant to which recruitment itself is being made specifies requirement of a ''CCC' Certificate in computer operation, but does not provide for any specific agency authorized for conduct of such course. It is otherwise not in issue that petitioners have obtained ''CCC' Certificate while in employment of the Union of India with the Armed Forces. The certificates obtained by them are of a Certificate Course in Computer Concept (''CCC'). The petitioners' ''CCC' Certificates are issued by private agencies, which have been instructed/authorized to run the ''CCC' course for securing better skill for ex-servicemen with the object of improving their employability in the employment of State or private sector etc.
10. The Government Order dated 23rd September, 2016 merely provides that where requirement exists of possessing ''CCC' Certificate from DOEACC Society, for employment in question, the ''CCC' qualification shall henceforth be read as ''CCC' Certificate from NIELIT in place of DOEACC. Since the Rules of 1980 or the advertisement No.3 of 2016 do not contemplate possessing of ''CCC' Certificate from DOEACC Society the Government Order dated 23rd September, 2016 cannot be pressed into service. This Government Order therefore would not justify the stand of State in the present exigency.
11. The scheme of the Union Government for resettlement of ex-servicemen otherwise emphasizes need for better skill to be provided to such ex-servicemen, so that they can have a second career after they are made to retire at an early age in life and are otherwise full of talent which can be utilized elsewhere. ''CCC' Certificates issued to petitioners have been found acceptable by the recruiting agency i.e. the Commission and necessary recommendation has already been made for petitioners' claim for appointment to be considered by the State Government. In view of the fact that rules as also the advertisement do not specifically contemplate requirement of ''CCC' Certificate from a specific private agency such as NIELIT, it would not be open for the State or its Authorities to insist upon ''CCC' Certificate to be obtained from NIELIT as a condition for appointment. It may otherwise be taken note of that all the petitioners have subsequently obtained ''CCC' Certificate from NIELIT also. In para 32 of the writ petition it is also pleaded by the petitioners that similar certificates, as are possessed by the petitioners, were made the basis for grant of employment to the post in question but there is no specific denial of this fact in para 12 of the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent nos.1, 2 and 3.
12. In light of the observations made above, this Court finds that the action of respondents in withholding petitioners' candidature for appointment to the post of Village Development Officer, only on the ground that they do not possess ''CCC' Certificate from NIELIT cannot be approved. Petitioners' claim for appointment, therefore, is liable to be considered keeping in view the observations made above as also the applicable rules that regulates grant of employment in question i.e. the Rules of 1980.
13. Writ petition, accordingly, succeeds and is allowed. A direction is issued to the respondents to accord consideration to petitioners' claim for appointment to the post of Village Development Officer and their candidature will not be ignored only on the ground that petitioners' ''CCC' Certificate is not issued from NIELIT. The required consideration would be made within a period of two months from the date of presentation of certified copy of this order.
Order Date :- 13.11.2019 Anil (Ashwani Kumar Mishra, J.)