1. Recruitment to health worker cadres — Eligibility dispute — Requirement of science stream in intermediate education — Conflict between state recruitment rules and central registration standards. (Para 2 , 5 , 10 )
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2021 Supreme(SC) 167
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. NAGESWARA RAO, S. RAVINDRA BHAT, JJ.
Suman Devi and Others – Appellants
Versus
State of Uttarakhand and Others – Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos. 000554-000557, 000558, 000559, 000560, 000561, 000562-000563 of 2021
Decided On : 25-03-2021
Important Points
Statutory recruitment rules prevail over omissions in an advertisement. The State's power under Article 309 to prescribe eligibility criteria for employment is distinct from the Indian Nursing Council's authority to set educational standards for course recognition and registration.
Subject
Recruitment and Selection - Eligibility Criteria
Act Referred
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA: Art.309
NURSING COUNCIL ACT: S.16, S.10, S.15(a)
REORGANISATION ACT: S.87, S.88, S.28
UTTAR PRADESH DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE HEALTH WORKER AND HEALTH SUPERVISOR MALE AND FEMALE SERVICE RULES: R.5(1), R.5(2)
UTTARAKHAND MEDICAL HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE HEALTH WORKER AND HEALTH SUPERVISOR MALE AND FEMALE SERVICE RULES: R.8(2)
UTTRA PRADESH REORGANISATION ACT: S.87
NURSING COUNCIL ACT: S.16, S.10, S.15(a)
REORGANISATION ACT: S.87, S.88, S.28
UTTAR PRADESH DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE HEALTH WORKER AND HEALTH SUPERVISOR MALE AND FEMALE SERVICE RULES: R.5(1), R.5(2)
UTTARAKHAND MEDICAL HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE HEALTH WORKER AND HEALTH SUPERVISOR MALE AND FEMALE SERVICE RULES: R.8(2)
UTTRA PRADESH REORGANISATION ACT: S.87
Headnote
Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 - Section 16 - Uttar Pradesh Department of Medical Health and Family Welfare Health Worker and Health Supervisor (Male and Female) Service Rules, 1997 - Rule 5(1) – Advertisements – Family Health Worker - Appointment – Cadre - Erstwhile United Provinces enacted a law, brought into force - [United Provinces Nurses, Midwives, Assistant Midwives (Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives and Health Visitors) Registration Act, 1934] - Object of U.P. Law was to provide for registration of nursing profession - U.P. Law was later amended and a definition of Auxiliary Nurse-Midwife was inserted - Its objective was to set up a Central Council (hereafter “the council”) to establish a uniform standard of training for nurses, midwives and health visitors - Section 16 of INC Act enables council to prescribe curricula for training and conditions for admission - Whether holding of such qualifications per se binds the State to accept them or prescribe additional qualifications or experience for employment within State is exclusively that of State’s domain– Held, In regard to the argument that the statutory rules framed by erstwhile State of UP as applicable to State of Uttarakhand, were contrary to the provisions of the INC Act, this court holds submission to be insubstantial and unmerited - Objective of INC Act - as indeed its provisions testify - This mode of selection does not eliminate requirement of the rule prescribing essential qualifications; nor does it relieve any candidate from the obligation to apply for post and face the scrutiny of committee, for her candidature - In present case, 440 vacancies were advertised; they were to be considered together; obviously, in respect of older vacancies which arose for previous years, qualifications applicable for vacancy years were applicable - None of the appellants disputed that they were ineligible in terms of the old rules, as they did not hold requisite intermediate qualifications in science stream - Appellants’ contention, in this regard too, consequently fails - There is no merit in these appeals; they are dismissed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant(s) : Ms. V. Mohana, Sr. Adv. Mr. R. P. Gupta, AOR Mr. Ravindra S. Garia, AOR Mr. Shashank Singh Adv Mr. Siddharth Iyer, Adv. Mr. Abhay Kumar, AOR Mr. Kumar Milind, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Naphade, Sr. Adv. Ms. S Lakshmi Aiyer, Adv Mr. Mohd. Farhan Khan, Adv Ms. Farah Hashmi, Adv Mr. M C Dhingra AOR Mr. Gaurav Dhingra, Adv
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Jaswant Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Jatinder Kumar Sethi, Dy. A.G. Mr. Ashutosh kumar Sharma,Adv Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Jatinder Sethi, Dy. A.G. Mrs. D. Bharathi Reddy, AOR Mr. Ytharth Kumar, Adv. Mr. VSR Krishna, Adv. Mr. Arpit Shukla, AOR Mr. T. Mahipal, AOR Mr. Manan Verma, AOR Mr. M. C. Dhingra, AOR Mr. Javedur Rahman, Adv. Mr. Raveendra Bisht, Adv. Mr. Shivendra Singh, AOR
For the Appellant(s) : Ms. V. Mohana, Sr. Adv. Mr. R. P. Gupta, AOR Mr. Ravindra S. Garia, AOR Mr. Shashank Singh Adv Mr. Siddharth Iyer, Adv. Mr. Abhay Kumar, AOR Mr. Kumar Milind, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Naphade, Sr. Adv. Ms. S Lakshmi Aiyer, Adv Mr. Mohd. Farhan Khan, Adv Ms. Farah Hashmi, Adv Mr. M C Dhingra AOR Mr. Gaurav Dhingra, Adv
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Jaswant Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Jatinder Kumar Sethi, Dy. A.G. Mr. Ashutosh kumar Sharma,Adv Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Jatinder Sethi, Dy. A.G. Mrs. D. Bharathi Reddy, AOR Mr. Ytharth Kumar, Adv. Mr. VSR Krishna, Adv. Mr. Arpit Shukla, AOR Mr. T. Mahipal, AOR Mr. Manan Verma, AOR Mr. M. C. Dhingra, AOR Mr. Javedur Rahman, Adv. Mr. Raveendra Bisht, Adv. Mr. Shivendra Singh, AOR
Table of Contents
2. Whether state recruitment rules requiring science stream are discriminatory, conflict with central nursing standards, or are overridden by omissions in the recruitment advertisement. (Para 12 , 14 , 17 )
3. Statutory recruitment rules prevail over advertisement omissions; state's power to set employment eligibility under Article 309 is distinct from central educational recognition standards. (Para 28 , 29 , 30 )
4. State's authority to prescribe recruitment qualifications under Article 309 is not curtailed by central standards for educational recognition or omissions in recruitment advertisements. (Para 29 , 30 )
5. Appeals dismissed. (Para 33 )
6. Does the Indian Nursing Council Act's prescription of uniform education standards prevent a State from requiring additional qualifications for employment?
No. The INC Act regulates standards for educational recognition. The State, under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution, is empowered to prescribe additional eligibility conditions for recruitment to civil posts, which does not conflict with central educational standards. (Para 30 , 31 )
7. Is the State bound by the eligibility criteria mentioned in an advertisement if it omits a requirement stipulated in the statutory recruitment rules?
No. Omissions in an advertisement do not relieve the State of its obligation to follow statutory rules. Estoppel cannot operate against the State to compel it to give effect to a promise contrary to prevailing statutory rules. (Para 29 )
8. Do laws and rules from a predecessor state continue to apply if they are not specifically mentioned in an adaptation order under a Reorganization Act?
Yes. Laws in force in the predecessor state continue to operate upon the creation of a new state. An adaptation order is for necessary modifications; omission of a law in such an order does not create a legal vacuum. (Para 26 , 28 )
9. When is a candidate's eligibility for a public post typically adjudged?
Eligibility is adjudged as of the last date of receipt of applications, based on the relevant advertisement and the prevailing service rules. (Para 29 )
JUDGMENT :
S. RAVINDRA BHAT, J.
Brief Facts
1. With consent of counsel for parties, the appeals were heard finally.
2. The appellants, who are registered Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (hereafter “ANM”) complain that the Uttarakhand High Court’s ruling1 [By judgment dated 7th July, 2017 in Special Appeal No. 156, 143, 150/2017 and other connected appeals and writ petitions] regarding their ineligibility for appointment to the cadre of Family Health Worker (hereafter “FHW”), Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives (hereafter “ANM”) and Health Supervisor (hereafter “HS”) is erroneous. The Government of Uttarakhand had advertised on 15.03.2016, 440 vacancies of FHW (Female) and ANM, relative to several years’ backlog. The advertisements were challenged as being contrary to the recruitment rules; the challenge was upheld by a single judge (who allowed the writ petitions) and whose decision was affirmed by the impugned judgment.
3. The erstwhile United Provinces enacted a law, brought into force w.e.f. 25.08.1934 (hereafter called “the U.P. Law”)2 [United Provinces Nurses, Midwives, Assistant Midwives (Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives and Health Visitors) Registration Act, 1934]. The object of the U.P. Law was to provide for registration of nursing profession. The U.P. Law was later amended and a definition of Auxiliary Nurse-Midwife was inserted.
4. With effect from 31.12.1947, the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 (hereafter called “the INC Act”) was brought into force. Its objective was to set up a Central Council (hereafter “the council”) to establish a uniform standard of training for nurses, midwives and health visitors. Section 16 of the INC Act enables the council to prescribe curricula for training and conditions for admission; Section 10 of the Act enacted that qualifications included in Part I of the Schedule shall be recognized qualifications and the qualifications included in Part II of the Schedule shall be recognized higher qualifications. The text of the provision is extracted in the footnote below.3 [“10. Recognition of qualifications:
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the qualifications included in 1 of the Schedule shall be recognised qualifications, and the qualifications included in Part II of the Schedule shall be recognised higher qualifications.
(2) Any authority within the States which, being recognised by the State Government in consultation with the State Council, if any, for the purpose of granting any qualification, grants a qualification in general nursing, midwifery, auxiliary nursing-midwifery, health visiting or public health nursing, not included in the Schedule may apply to the Council to have such qualification recognised, and the Council may declare that such qualification, or such qualification only when granted after a specified date, shall be a recognised qualification for the purposes of this Act.
(3) The Council may enter into negotiations with any authority in any territory of India to which this Act does not extend or foreign country which by the law of such territory or country is entrusted with the maintenance of a register of nurses, midwives or health visitors; for the settling of a scheme of reciprocity for the recognition of qualifications, and in pursuance of any such scheme the Council may declare that a qualification granted by any authority in any such territory or country, or such qualification only when granted after a specified date, shall be a recognised qualification for the purposes of this Act.
Provided that no declaration shall be made under this sub-section in respect of any qualification unless by the law and practice of the foreign country in which the qualification is granted persons domiciled or originating in India and holding qualifications recognised under this Act are permitted to enter and practice the nursing profession in that country:
Provided further that:
(i) any reciprocal arrangements subsisting at the date of the commencement of this Act between a State Council and any authority outside Ind
