Allahabad High Court
Sneha Singh vs Institute Of Banking Personnel ... on 17 April, 2018
Bench: Devendra Kumar Arora, Rajesh Singh Chauhan
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH Court No. - 2 Case :- SERVICE BENCH No. - 24031 of 2016 Petitioner :- Sneha Singh Respondent :- Institute Of Banking Personnel Selection Thru.Director & Ors Counsel for Petitioner :- Ghaus Beg,Kunwar Ravi Prakash Counsel for Respondent :- Vinay Shanker,Anant Tewari,Gopal Kumar Srivastava,Manish Kumar Hon'ble Dr. Devendra Kumar Arora,J.
Hon'ble Rajesh Singh Chauhan,J.
1) Heard Mr. Ghaus Beg, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Gopal Kumar Srivastava, learned Counsel for the opposite parties No. 2 to 4 and Mr. Manish Kumar, learned Counsel for the opposite parties No. 5.
2) Initially the petitioner has approached this Court by means of the present writ petition with the following reliefs :
"i. issue a writ, order or direction including a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing the remark "graduation Degree not as per the IBPS advertisement" mentioned in the remark column of the list dated 13.6.2016 at serial No. 52 relating to petitioner as well as subsequent list having the name of the petitioner at serial No. 5 issued by the opposite party No.3 on its website, as contained in Annexure No. 6, 8 and 9 respectively to the writ petition.
ii issue a writ, order or direction including a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the opposite parties to consider the case of the petitioner for appointment on the post of I.T. Officer (Scale-1) within stipulated time on the basis of allotment of vacancy in unreserved category in Allahabad Bank.
iii. issue any other order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem just and proper under the circumstances of the case.
iv. award the costs of the writ petition in favour of the petitioner."
The petitioner, thereafter, by means of amendment, sought following relief :
"i-a. issue a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 14.9.2016 issued by the opposite party No.3, as contained in Annexure No. 11 to this writ petition."
3) Shorn off unnecessary details the facts of the case are as under :
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (hereinafter referred to as "IBPS"), an autonomous body, has received a mandate from twenty Nationalized Banks called as participating organization to conduct the common recruitment process every year through on-line examinations for selection of personnel in Specialist Officers' cadre posts of the participating organization.
4) According to the petitioner, pursuant to the advertisement issued by the the Director, IBPS (opposite party No.1) on its website : www.ibps.in on 16.11.2015 for recruitment of Specialist Officers' cadre posts in participating organizations, she applied through on-line registration for appointment as Specialist Officers' cadre post (I.T. Officer Scale-I) on 30.11.2015. She was called for written examination. On 14.2.2016, she appeared in the on-line common written examination, in which, she was declared successful and was called for interview. On 14.3.2016, she appeared in interview, in which also she declared successful and her combined score obtained in Common Written Examination (CWE) and Interview was 73.80 out of 100. On the basis of combined result for CWE and interview, she was provisionally allotted vacancy in unreserved category in Allahabad Bank though she belongs to reserved category.
5) It has been stated that on 13.6.2016, opposite party No.3-the Chief Manager, Recruitment Cell, Allahabad Bank, West Bengal, issued a circular/list showing therein the names having discrepancy in their documents. In the said list, the name of the petitioner finds place at serial No.52 with a remark that ''her graduation degree is not as per IBPS advertisement'. In response to the aforesaid circular/ notice, the petitioner submitted her response annexing her educational qualification certificates along with the letter dated 14.6.2016 issued by the Registrar, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, U.P., Lucknow, stating therein that the degree of Bachelor of Technology in (Electronics, Instrumentation and Control Engineering) is equivalent to Electronics and Instruments (Four Years) Degree. Thereafter, the petitioner personally visited the office of the opposite party No.3 at Kolkatta, who assured her that appointment letter shall be issued soon but instead of issuing appointment letter to the petitioner, opposite party No.3 issued a list of candidates showing discrepancies, in which the name of the petitioner has been shown at serial No. 5 and the petitioner was required to submit the requisite documents by 10.9.2016. On the basis of the aforesaid list, the petitioner submitted the documents via e-mail but even then, appointment letter was not issued to the petitioner.
6) Feeling aggrieved by the inaction of the Bank authorities, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition. After filing the present writ petition, the petitioner has received a letter dated 14.9.2016 issued by the Assistant General Manager (HR), inter alia stating that her candidature for the post of I.T. Officer in Scale-I has been cancelled. This order dated 14.9.2016 has been challenged by the petitioner by amending the present writ petition.
7) Submission of the learned Counsel for the petitioner is that in the year 2011, the petitioner has passed four years' Engineering Degree in Bachelor of Technology in Electronics, Instrumentation and Control Engineering in First Division from Azad Institute of Engineering & Technology, Lucknow, which is affiliated to the then Gautam Budh Technical University (now known as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, U.P.). As per Clause-III of the advertisement issued by the IBPS for recruitment of Specialist Officers dated 2.11.2015, the educational qualification for recruitment of I.T. Officer (Scale-I) post is four years' Engineering/Technology Degree in Computer Science/Computer Application/Information Technology/ Electronics/Electronics & Telecommunications/Electronics and Communication/Electronics and Instrumentation. His submission is that since the petitioner having requisite qualification i.e. B.Tech in Electronics & Instrumentation and also having knowledge of Control Engineering as provided in the advertisement dated 2.11.2015 issued by the IBPS for recruitment of Specialist Officer's cadre post, had applied and thereafter she was declared successful in Common Written Examination and Interview.
8) Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that as the petitioner scored 73.80 out of 100 on the basis of which she obtained 5th position in All India Rank, she was allotted a vacancy in unreserved category though she belongs to Scheduled Caste Candidate in Allahabad Bank but even then vide letter dated 14.9.2016, the candidature of the petitioner has been cancelled on the ground that she did not possess the requisite qualification as prescribed in the advertisement dated 2.11.2015 issued by the IBPS, Mumbai for CWE-V (2016-17).
9) Elaborating his submission, learned Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that against the notification dated 13.6.2016 issued by the Bank on its website, the petitioner has preferred a representation on 15.6.2016, stating therein that the B.Tech Degree in Electronics, Instrumentation and Control Engineering is equivalent to B.Tech. in Electronics and Instrumentation as is evident from the letter dated 14.6.2016 issued by the Registrar, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, U.P. but the opposite party No.3 has cancelled the candidature of the petitioner in a mechanical manner without considering the representation of the petitioner dated 15.6.2016. Thus, the action of the opposite party No.3 in rejecting the candidature of the petitioner is illegal and arbitrary apart from it being in violation of principle of natural justice.
10) Learned Counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that at the time of interview, the certificates/mark-sheets of the petitioner were examined by the participating organization and by the Nodal Bank with the help of IBPS. Thus, during the interview, all the documents of the petitioner were verified and on the basis of being successful in the interview, the petitioner was provisionally allotted a vacancy in unreserved category in Allahabad Bank. Thus, after the provisional allotment of vacancy, the plea that she is not eligible for the post in question cannot be sustained in the eyes of law because the concerned authorities have already examined her certificates/mark-sheets at the time of interview.
11) Per contra, Mr. Gopal Kumar Srivastava, learned Counsel for the opposite parties No. 2 to 4 has submitted that IBPS, Mumbai being apex body for recruiting personnel for Banking Industry, had conducted common on-line examinations for the posts of Probationary Officers/ Specialist Officers/Clerks on behalf of participating organization viz. Public Sector Banks and other bank or financial institution. The eligibility criteria like age, educational qualification etc. for each category of post are fixed by IBPS, Mumbai in consultation with all participating organizations, which are published at the beginning of the process through advertisement/notification.
12) Counsel for the opposite parties No. 2 to 4 has submitted that IBPS, Mumbai, initiated common recruitment process of recruitment of Specialist Officers in participating organizations (CRP SPL-V) and published notification/ advertisement on 16.11.2015 inviting applications for on-line examination for various specialist officer's posts including I.T. Officer (Scale-I). The Education Qualification stipulated by the IBPS Mumbai in the aforesaid advertisement dated 16.11.2015 for the post of IT Officer is (a) four year Engineering/Technology Degree in Computer Science/Computer Applications/Information Technology/Electronics/Electronics & Telecommunications/ Electronics & Communication/Electronics & Instrumentation. Or (b) Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/Electronics & Telecommunication/Electronics & Communication/Electronics & Instrumentation/Computer Science/Information Technology/Computer Applications or Graduate having passed DOEACC ''B' Level. The petitioner had submitted her on-line application dated 27.11.2015 wherein under the column for ''Subject/Stream', she filled up her Graduation as ''Electronics & Instrumentation'. Subsequently, the petitioner was shortlisted for written and interview process conducted by the IBPS and was provisionally allotted Allahabad Bank for the post of IT Officer based on merit-cum-preference.
13) It has been stated by the counsel for the opposite parties No. 2 to 4 that in the advertisement dated 16.11.2015 as also in the allotment letter issued by the IBPS, it has been clearly mentioned that provisional allotment is subject to the candidate fulfilling the eligibility criteria and identity verification to the satisfaction of the allotted organization. This does not constitute an offer of employment and that in case it is detected at any stage of the recruitment process that the candidates does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, his/her candidature/chance in the process shall stand forfeited. His submission is that upon receipt of the dossier of the petitioner from the IBPS and at the time of verification of her dossier by the respondent-Allahabad Bank, it was found that that petitioner's actual educational qualification was not in accordance with requisite educational qualification for the post of I.T. Officer as mentioned in the advertisement dated 16.11.2015 issued by IBPS, Mumbai. It also came into light during scrutiny of petitioner's dossier that at the time of submitting her on-line application dated 27.11.2015, the petitioner had wrongly filled her Graduation ''Subject/Stream' as ''Electronics & Instrumentation' whereas her actual Graduation subject/stream was ''Electronics Instrumentation & Control Engineering". This discrepancy of qualification was displayed on 13.6.2016 in respondent-Allahabad Bank's website for her information along with discrepancy list of other candidates mentioning "Graduation Degree not as per IBPS advertisement" against her name.
14) Counsel for the opposite parties No. 2 to 4 has submitted that the discrepancy of educational qualification was also referred to IBPS, Mumbai vide E-mail dated 3.8.2016, seeking their opinion regarding the educational qualification of the petitioner. In response, the IBPS, Mumbai, vide E-Mail dated 4.8.2016, informed the respondent-Allahabad Bank that since Common Written Examination-SPL-V is an all India Selection Process, we have to follow the terms and conditions of the advertisement/notification scrupulously to maintain uniformity and to avoid any deviation/discrimination. It was also stated by the IBPS, Mumbai that they have nothing to add other than what has been stated in the advertisement/notification. Thereafter, the discrepancy of qualification was again displayed on 4.8.2016 on Allahabad Bank's website for her information along with discrepancy list of other candidates mentioning INELIGIBLE : "Graduation Degree not as per IBPS advertisement" against her name. Subsequently, on 26.8.2016, list of candidates including the petitioner having discrepancy has been displayed in Allahabad Bank's website. In these backgrounds, his submission is that since the petitioner does not possess the requisite qualification as per the eligibility criteria stipulated for the post of IT Officer as per the advertisement/notification issued by IBPS, Mumbai for initiating the recruitment process and Allahabad Bank is not supposed to interpret/decide any qualification other than what has been stated in the advertisement in order to avoid legal complications in future, therefore, the petitioner's candidature was cancelled and the same was informed to her vide letter dated 14.9.2016, Thus, there is no illegality or infirmity in cancelling the candidature of the petitioner vide impugned order and the writ petition is liable to be dismissed.
15) We have heard learned Counsel for the parties and perused the record.
16) At the outset, it would be apt to mention that though in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the opposite parties, the issue of maintainability of the present writ petition has been mentioned but during the course of arguments, none of the learned Counsel for the parties have raised the issue of maintainability of the present writ petition before this Court and the Counsel for the parties have advanced arguments on merit of the case. Therefore, we refrain ourselves to give any finding on the issue of maintainability of the present writ petition. Now, we proceed to decide the present writ petition on merit of the case.
17) The case of the petitioner is that in the year 2011, she has passed four years Engineering Degree in Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) (Electronics, Instrumentation & Control Engineering) from Azad Institute of Engineering & Technology, Lucknow, which is affiliated to the then Gautam Budh Technical University (now known as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University. Pursuant to the advertisement published by IBPS on its website, she applied for I.T. Officer (Scale-I). She participated in written examination and thereafter in interview. On the basis of performance in both the examinations, she was declared successful and she was provisionally allotted Allahabad Bank under unreserved category.
18) The stand of the petitioner is that though at the time of interview, the documents of the petitioner relating to her educational qualifications were examined and, thereafter, she appeared in interview and was declared successful but after provisionally allotment of Allahabad Bank, all of a sudden, the Allahabad Bank had issued a list of candidates on its website showing discrepancies, in which the name of the petitioner finds place at serial No.5. Thereafter, her candidature was cancelled as her educational qualification is not in accordance with the qualification prescribed in the advertisement published by IBPS.
19) Refuting the stand of the petitioner, Counsel for the Bank argued that while submitting application through on-line for the post of IT Officer, the petitioner has mentioned under column ''subject/stream' as "Electronics & Instrumentation". But on verification of the educational qualification, her actual graduation subject/stream was "Electronics Instrumentation & Control Engineering". This discrepancy of qualification was displayed on 13.6.2016 on respondent bank's website for her information along with discrepancy list of other candidates but the petitioner has failed to satisfy with regard to the qualification as per the advertisement of IBPS, therefore, according to the terms and conditions of the advertisement, the petitioner's candidature was forfeited/cancelled.
20) IBPS is a public trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 and also the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is a complete autonomous statutory body created under a specialized legislation, which is specialized in conducting test/selection process of personnel for participating banks and other organizations to fill the reported vacancies.
21) In furtherance of the aforesaid aim and object, IBPS had published an advertisement on its website for common recruitment process for recruitment of specialist officers viz. I.T.O. Officer (Scale-I), Agricultural Field Officer (Scale-I), Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale-I), Law Officer (Scale-I), HR/Personnel Officer (Scale-I) and Marketing Officer (Scale-I), in participating organization (CRP SPL-V). Clause-B deals with the criteria for eligibility, which reads as under :
" B. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Candidates, intending to apply for CRPSPL-V should ensure that they fulfil the minimum eligibility criteria specified by IBPS: Please note that the eligibility criteria specified herein are the basic criteria for applying for the post. Candidates must necessarily produce the relevant documents to category, nationality, age, educational qualifications etc. in original alongwith a photocopy thereof in support of their identity and eligibility as indicated in the online application form. Please note that no change of category will be permitted at any stage after registration of the online application and the result will be processed considering the category which has been indicated in the online application, subject to guidelines of the Government of India in this regard. Merely applying for CWE/ appearing for and being shortlisted in CWE and/or in the subsequent interview and/subsequent processes does not imply that a candidate will necessarily be offered employment in any of the Participating Organisations. No request for considering the candidature under any category other than the one in which applied will be entertained."
22) Clause B (III) of the advertisement deals with Educational Qualification as on 10.12.2015. The relevant part of Clause B (III) is reproduced as under :-
"Educational Qualifications (As on 10.12.2015) :
Post Code Name of the Post Age Educational Qualifications (from a University/Institution/Board recognized by Govt. of India/approved by Govt. Regulatory Bodies) 01 I.T. Officer (Scale-1) Min. 20 Years Max. 30 Years
a) 4 year Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/Computer Applications/ Information Technology/ Electronics/Electronics & Telecommunications/Electronics & Communication/Electronics & Instrumentation OR Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/Electronics & Tele Communication/Electronics & Communication/Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications OR Graduate having passed DOEACC ''B' level 02 ..............
03
..................
04.................
05..................
06................
*In case of dual specialisations, one of the fields of specialisation should be in the field prescribed. In case of major/ minor specialisations, major specialisation should be in the stream prescribed. Candidates having PG Degree (MMS or MBA)/PG Diploma with more than two specialisations are not eligible to apply."
23) From perusal of the aforesaid clauses of the advertisement, it is clear that the candidate who wants to apply for I.T. Officer (Scale) in pursuance to the advertisement ought to have obtained 4 year Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/Computer Applications/InformationTechnology/Electronics/Electronics &Telecommunications/Electronics&Communication/Electroics & Instrumentation OR Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/Electronics & Tele-Communication/Electronics & Communication/Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications OR Graduate having passed DOEACC ''B' level. The minimum age prescribed for the post of I.T. officer (Scale-I) was 20 years and maximum 30 years. It was also provided in the advertisement under heading "Provisional Allotment" that the provisional allotment is subject to the candidate fulfilling the criteria for Participating Organization and identity verification to the satisfaction of the allotted organization and it does not constitute an offer of employment. In case it is detected at any stage of the recruitment process that, the candidate does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, his/her candidature/chance in the process shall stand forfeited. It was also mentioned that issuance of offer of appointment including terms and conditions, formalities for verification, joining etc., is solely the decision of the Participating Organization and shall be final and binding. IBPS shall have no role therein.
24) In the present case, admittedly, the petitioner, while filling on-line application for the post of I.T. Officer Scale-I on 27.11.2015, has filled under the column for ''Subject/Stream' as "Electronics & Instrumentation". The petitioner's educational qualification is four years Electronics, Instrumentation & Control Engineering, whereas as per the advertisement published by the IBPS on its website, the educational qualification for the post of I.T. Officer Scale-I for which the petitioner applied, was 4 year Engineering/ Technology Degree in Computer Science/Computer Applications/InformationTechnology/ Electronics/Electronics&Telecommunications/Electronics & Communication/Electroics & Instrumentation OR Post Graduate Degree in Electronics/Electronics & Tele-Communication/Electronics & Communication/Electronics & Instrumentation/ Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Computer Applications OR Graduate having passed DOEACC ''B' level. This shows that the petitioner's actual educational qualification was not in accordance with the requisite educational qualification for the post of I.T. Officer as mentioned in the advertisement dated 16.11.2015 issued by IBPS Mumbai. In these backgrounds, the petitioner's candidature for post in question was forfeited/cancelled vide order dated 14.9.2016.
25) Undisputedly, the IBPS is a Test Conducting Agency for the participating organizations. The eligibility criteria, educational qualification etc. are prescribed as per discussions with the participating organizations and as per their requirement. Merit listed eligible candidates are provisionally allotted a merit cum preference basis to the participating banks, depending upon the vacancies notified by them to IBPS. This does not constitute an offer of employment.
26) So far as the assertion of the petitioner that during the course of written and interview, the petitioner's educational qualification was checked and after satisfying the educational qualification, the petitioner was allowed to appear in interview, hence, there was no occasion for the allottee bank i.e. Allahabad Bank to raise discrepancy with regard to educational qualification of the petitioner, has no force for the reason that in the advertisement itself, it has been mentioned in explicit words that if it is detected at any stage of recruitment process that the candidate does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, his/her candidature/chance in the process stands forfeited. The allottee bank is the ultimate authority to issue appointment letter to the candidate subject to their terms and conditions and requirement. Decisions of the allotted bank will be final and binding on candidates and the IBPS has no role to play.
27) Learned Counsel for the petitioner, while laying much emphasis upon the letter dated 14.6.2016 issued by the Registrar, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, U.P. to the effect that two branches of engineering courses, namely, (a) Electronics, Instrumentation and Control Engineering, (b) Electronics & Instrumentation, are having the same subjects and syllabus, which are being taught by the concerned technical Universities all over India, has submitted that since the two engineering courses are equivalent to each other, therefore, the petitioner being eligible as per the IBPS advertisement has rightly been selected in a common written examination as well as in interview and she has rightly been allotted vacancy in unreserved category at Allahabad Bank. These facts have been denied by the opposite parties in the counter affidavit by saying that it is for the participating banks to decide on the educational qualification required and since the advertisement did not provide any equivalence, the letter for equivalence issued by the Registrar of the University is of no consequence.
28) Having examined the material on record, we are of the view that the issue of equivalance of the educational qualification cannot be adjudicated by this Court as held by the Apex Court in J. Ranga Swamy vs. Govenrment of Andhra Pradesh and others: AIR 1990 SC 535 and in State of Rajasthan and others vs. Lata Arun : AIR 2002 SC 2642, wherein the Apex Court observed that the eligibility qualification for admission to a course or for recruitment or promotion in service are matters to be considered by the appropriate authority, and not by the Courts. In other words, it is the exclusive domain of the authority concerned.
29) On due consideration, we are of the view that the candidature of the petitioner was provisional and subject to fulfilling the eligibility criteria laid down in the advertisement dated 16.11.2015, therefore, even if the petitioner has crossed various stages of selection process, the claim of the petitioner for appointment on the post in question is not germane as the general instructions of the advertisement clearly mentions that IBPS/Participating Organization would be free to reject any application at any stage of process, if the candidate is found ineligible as per the stipulated eligibility criteria. Thus, since the petitioner was not fulfilling the eligibility criteria as per advertisement, her candidature has rightly been cancelled.
30) For the reasons aforesaid, the writ petition being devoid of merits is hereby dismissed. Costs easy.
Order Date :- 17.4.2018 Ajit/-