JUDGMENT :

Sandeep V. Marne, J.

1. By this Petition, Petitioners assail the judgment and order dated 5th July, 2022 passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai (Tribunal), thereby rejecting Petitioners’ Original Application No.750 of 2021. They had challenged advertisement dated July 22, 2019 issued by Respondent No.1 for filling up posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) Group-B (Non-Gazetted) in Water Resources Department to the extent it sought to exclude degree holders from participating in the selection process.

2. Facts of the case, briefly stated, are that an advertisement came to be issued by the Water Resources for filling up posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) Group-B (Non-Gazetted) prescribing the eligibility criteria of ‘Diploma in Civil Engineering or Part-time or Distance Education equivalent to a three year diploma in Civil Engineering recognized by the Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education, Mumbai.’

3. Petitioners, who hold degree in Civil Engineering, felt aggrieved by the eligibility criteria prescribed in the advertisement which apparently sought to exclude them. Therefore, Original Application No.750 of 2021 came to be instituted by them before the Tribunal challenging advertisement dated July 22, 2019. Reliance was placed before the Tribunal on Recruitment Rules being ‘Junior Engineer (Civil) Group-B (Non-Gazetted) in the Public Works Department and the Irrigation Department, Recruitment Rules, 1998’ (Recruitment Rules, 1998), prescribing the qualification of ‘3 years diploma in Civil Engineering recognised by Government or any other qualification recognised as equivalent thereto.’ It was contended that the qualification of degree in Civil Engineering is covered by the expression ‘any other qualification recognised as equivalent thereto’. Reliance was also placed on Recruitment Rules notified on April 25, 2018 for post of Sectional Engineer (Civil) Group-B, wherein the Junior Engineers recruited with qualification of degree in Civil Engineering are included in feeder cadre. Reliance was also placed before the Tribunal on the judgment of Apex Court in Puneet Shama & Ors. Versus Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd & anr., 2021 SCC Online SC 291. The Tribunal proceeded to dismiss Original Application by its judgment and order dated July 5, 2022. Aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the Tribunal, Petitioners have fled the present Petition. When the present Petition came up for hearing on July 25, 2022, an objection was raised on behalf of the State Government about delay in approaching the Tribunal on the part of Petitioners. This Court, by its order dated 25th July 2022, recorded that the Tribunal had already condoned the delay vide its order dated 30th November, 2021, which order was not challenged by the State Government. When this Petition once again appeared before this Court on 28th July, 2022, this Court granted liberty to the Respondents to hold the examination on the scheduled dates but restrained them from declaring the results without obtaining leave of this Court.

4. Appearing for Petitioners, Ms. Karnik, the learned counsel would submit that the Tribunal has not considered the submissions advanced before it in right earnest and has ignored that the degree holders are also deemed to be included in the eligibility criteria for appointment to the post of Junior Engineer. She would place reliance on the Recruitment Rules for post of Sectional Engineer which were earlier notified on June 16, 1997 and came to be amended on April 25, 2018. She would submit under 2018 Amended Rules, Junior Engineers recruited with qualification of degree are considered eligible for promotion to the post of Sectional Engineer. She would submit that based on provisions of Recruitment Rules for promotional post of Sectional Engineer, it is required to be inferred that degree holders are also eligible for being appointed as Junior Engineer. In this regard, she places reliance on judgment of Apex Cour