Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, J.

This appeal has been filed by the Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited through its Chairman questioning the correctness of the Judgment dated 29th August, 2018 whereby a learned Single Judge of this Court has allowed the writ petition filed by the respondents-petitioners who claim that since they are in possession of a higher qualification of a Degree in Electrical Engineering, they are also entitled to participate in the recruitment process of Junior Electrical Engineers of the Company.

2. The dispute in short is that the advertisement/employment notice as published by the appellant-company, being Employment Notice No. 6 of 2018 prescribes the requisite qualification for recruitment as Junior Electrical Engineer of full time three years Diploma in Electrical Engineering from a recognized institute/college duly recognized by the State Government/Central Government approved by the AICTE. The degree holders filed the writ petition giving rise to this appeal questioning the action of the appellant-company in confining the eligibility qualification to the diploma holders only.

3. We have heard Sri Anand Kumar Ojha for the appellants, Sri Prashant Sinha, Sri Awadhesh Kumar and Sri Baua Jha for the private respondents and Sri Abhinav Srivastawa for the intervenors in the writ petition.

4. The grounds taken for issuance of a writ of mandamus to allow the degree holders to participate in the recruitment process was that a degree in Electrical Engineering was a higher qualification that subsumed in it the three years' diploma course as a degree course was of four years whereas the diploma course was of three years.

5. It was also urged that this qualification was existing in the revised qualification adopted by the appellant-company in 2016, and not only this when the appellant-company proceeded to invite tenders and requests for proposals for holding of such examinations through agencies. The requisition contained both the qualifications of Degree and Diploma for recruitment to the post of Junior Electrical Engineer. In spite of this, all of a sudden the appellant-company took a decision that was reflected in Employment Notice No. 6 of 2018 to offer the post only to diploma holders thereby unjustifiably excluding the degree holders from participation in the recruitment process. Thus in all the three writ petitions that give rise to the present appeal, this was the common claim of all the degree holders.

6. The petitions were resisted by the appellant-company contending that there are a large number of job opportunities for degree holders including that of Assistant Engineers and Executive Engineers which cannot be availed of by diploma holders. Those who hold the qualification of diploma remain confined in their opportunities of employment by way of direct recruitment to the post of Junior Engineer only, and if the degree holders are also included, the same would amount to denying a level of playing field, keeping in view the large number of unemployed diploma holders who are waiting for employment. It was also urged on behalf of the appellant company before the learned Single Judge that Degree is not in line higher qualification. So far as recruitment to the post of Junior Electrical Engineer is concerned, it is also submitted that a conscious decision was taken on 5th of June, 2018 by the Managing Director for adopting the lone qualification of Diploma in supersession of the earlier eligibility criteria. This decision taken by the Chairman-cum-Managing Director was authorized in terms of Section 79(k) of the Electricity Act, 1948 (Central Act) vide a Notification dated 16th of September, 1992 subject to approval by the Board.

7. The appellant-company also took a stand that the qualifications are different and the employer has the right to fix the qualifications that are required for recruitmen