Delhi High Court
Sh. Narender Kr Joshi vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors. on 30 November, 2004
Equivalent citations: 115(2004)DLT663, 2005(80)DRJ394, 2006(1)SLJ408(DELHI)
Author: Manmohan Sarin
Bench: Manmohan Sarin
JUDGMENT Manmohan Sarin, J.
1. Rule.
With the consent of the parties, writ petition is taken up for disposal.
2. Petitioner is aggrieved by his non-appointment to the post of Telecom Officer. Respondent No.2 on 29.11.2000 had taken out an advertisement titled ''Recruitment of Graduate Engineer Telecom Officers-2001''. Petitioner, who holds a Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering, from Delhi University, applied in response to the above advertisement. Petitioner appeared in the competitive examination held in March, 2001. He was called for an interview pursuant to his qualifying the said examination. Respondent No.2 did not appoint the petitioner holding that Bachelor degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering, possessed by the petitioner, did not meet the eligibility qualification.
3. For facility of reference, the eligibility conditions as given in the advertisement are reproduced as under:-
''A) Educational: The applicant must possess Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Technology or equivalent degree from a recognised Engineering College/University in any of the following disciplines, namely,:
i) Telecommunication Engineering or
ii) Electronics Engineering or
iii) Radio Engineering or
iv) Computer Engineering or
v) Electrical Engineering''
4. It is not necessary to go into the other conditions of the advertisement as the same are not necessary for disposal of the writ petition. The main plank of petitioner's submission is that the Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering of the University of Delhi, is equivalent to degree in Bachelor of Technology/Bachelor of Engineering in any of the five disciplines mentioned above at (i to v). Counsel for petitioner submits that any candidate, who is possessed of a Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering or in any of five disciplines mentioned above, is entitled on the basis of said degree to admission to the post degree course of M.Tech (Electronics). Mr. Vikas Singh submits that the Bachelor's Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering, is being regarded by various other Organisations and Armed Forces, as equivalent to a degree in Engineering Telecommunication and other disciplines, as mentioned above. He has produced on record the advertisement issued by the Indian Air Force for appointment of Permanent Commissioned or Short Service Commissioned Officers. He has also referred to the advertisement of respondent No.2, who for the purposes of Telecom Technical Assistants had considered a three years Engineering Degree in Instrument Technology as equivalent to Engineering Diploma in any of the five disciplines.
5. There is no dispute with the proposition that an employer is entitled to specify norms educational or set qualifying standards, for any appointment or recruitment to be made by it. The discretion of the Employer in setting up norms and standards cannot be assailed. However, the question here is not of the right of the employer to specify the minimum standards or qualifications. The question to be decided is whether a Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering can be regarded as an equivalent degree to the degree in five disciplines mentioned in the advertisement.
6. Petitioner had raised this issue with Association of Indian Universities, who referred the matter to Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, formerly known as the Delhi Institute of Technology, for advice on the question of parity with BE (Instrumentation and Control). The Institute has given its opinion and conclusions in the following terms:-
''In this connection, I am directed to inform you that the Director, NSIT had constituted a Committee to examine the course contents of various B.E. Courses conducted by the University of Delhi in order to find equivalence of the Degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Instrumentation and Control Engineering) with the courses of Electronics and Communication Engineering/Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
The conclusion of the Committee is as follows:-
(a) Instrumentation and Control Engineering has high commonality (more than 64%) with the Electronics and Communication Engineering and Electrical Engineering courses conducted by the University of Delhi.
. (b) The matching of the Instrumentation and Control Engineering course with the Computer Engineering course conducted by the Delhi University is even higher and is about 80%.
This is for your information and necessary action please.
Yours faithfully sd/-
(R.P.Kansal) Dy. Registrar (Academic).''
7. During the course of writ proceedings, it was considered expedient and desirable to also obtain the opinion of the Indian Institute of Technology. Accordingly, this issue was referred by the Court vide its order dated 15.7.2004, for submission of expert opinion on whether the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Instrumentation and Control Engineering) can be considered equivalent to Communication Engineering/Electronic Engineering/Radio Engineering/Computer Engineering/Electrical Engineering. The Indian Institute of Technology vide its letter No.IITD/R/2004/204 dated 9.9.2004 has given its expert opinion as under:-
''Control Group has been admitting students with BE/Batch., in Instrumentation and Control (Along with those with BE/B.Tech., in Electrical Engineering/Electronics Engineering/ Communication Engineering/Computer Engineering) for M.Tech., in Control and Automation and thus treating BE/B. Tech., in Instrument and Control as equivalent to BE/B.Tech., in Electrical Engineering/Electronics Engineering/ Communication Engineering/Computer Engineering.''
8. Learned counsel for the petitioner further in support of his submission that the Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering is equivalent to BE/B.Tech Degree in five disciplines, mentioned in the advertisement, has relied on judgment of the Supreme Court in Tariq Islam Vs.Aligarh Muslim University and Others . The Supreme Court in the said case was considering the question of equivalence of BA (Hons) foreign degree with Master Degree. The Court made the following observations:-
''In the event his qualification of BA (Hons) degree from the Council of National Academic Awards is not equivalent to Master's degree, he could not have been admitted to Mphil leading to PhD Course. But to say that such acceptance of such equivalence is only for the purpose of admission to Mphil leading to PhD course and not for other purposes will lead to anomalous results. Equivalence of qualification has to be determined before a person is allowed to undergo a course. When the appellant as a result of such admission obtained such high qualifications as Mphil/PhD, it is difficult to imagine that the equivalence of qualification obtained by him earlier was not considered by the University. After having obtained such degrees, to nullify the equivalence declared by the Academic Council and the Vice-Chancellor will be to put the clock back causing grave injustice to the appellant.''
9. Mr. M.M. Sudan in opposition to the writ petition submits that the opinions expressed by Netaji Subas Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology were not very clear and categorical. He submitted that these opinions were really based on the premise that the Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering was regarded as equivalent to these degrees to the Bachelor of Technology Engineering Degree in five disciplines mentioned in the advertisement for the purpose of admission to M.Tech. Mr. Sudan submits that equivalence for the purposes of admission to a higher course may not be determinative of equivalence, which the employer may require for the purposes of recruitment.
10. I am unable to accept this plea in the present case. In view of the fact that the opinions tendered by the Indian Institute of Technology and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, show the consideration of the content of the syllabus by the said bodies. Not only this, the advertisement issued by the respondents provides for eligibility to an equivalent degree. A restricted meaning or a fetter cannot now be permitted to be placed on this. In case the respondents intended to exclude any degrees or courses in certain disciplines, it was for them to so specify. Having not done so, equivalence in course would have to be determined and ascertained based on the contents of the syllabus and course and opinion of the experts. Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering being regarded as equivalent to Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Technology is fortified by expert opinion. Further, admission to the higher Post Graduate course of M.Tech is available to any one, who has pursued the course a so in Instrumentation and Control. Besides, respondent No.2 had conducted a three hour examination, which comprised testing the candidate's general ability and his knowledge in various Engineering papers. These are listed in detail in Annexure-B of the advertisement. Petitioner, who has the Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering appeared and qualified in all these papers, which would also bear ample testimony to his being possessed of the requisite technical knowledge, as per the requirement of the respondents.
11. In view of the foregoing discussion, it is held that petitioner cannot be denied the appointment on the ground of not possessing the eligible qualification. It may be noted that on 10.10.2002, while issuing show cause notice in the writ petition, the Court had directed, '' In the meanwhile, any appointment made to the post of Graduate Engineer Junior Telecom Officer will be subject to the outcome of the writ petition.''
12. A writ of mandamus shall, accordingly, issue to the respondents to consider and process the petitioner's case, who is stated to have already qualified the examination. Let this be done within a period of six weeks. Upon appointment, petitioner would also be eligible to have seniority from the date person below him in the merit was appointed but without the benefit of any back wages.
Writ petition stands allowed in the above terms.