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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
Bhargav D. Karia, J.
Ketankumar Shanabhai Kotwal & 1 Others – Appellants
Versus
State Of Gujarat & 1 Others – Respondents
R/Special Civil Application No. 12008 of 2017
Decided On : 22-08-2022
Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 309 – Gujarat Panchayat Act, 1961 – Gujarat Panchayat Service (Classification and Recruitment) Rules, 1967 – University Grants Commission Act, 1956 – Section 3 – Gujarat Civil Services Computer Competency Training and Examination Rules, 2006 – National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 – Section 32(2)(d)(i), 12(d) – Gujarat Panchayat Service (Classification and Recruitment) Rules, 1988 – Recruitment Rules, 2014 – Rule 3 – Equivalent qualification – Whether candidates from zone of consideration eligible for appointment of Gram Sevak can be eliminated on ground that Degree of BRS in subject of Home Science even though relevant Rule prescribed qualification to be Degree of BRS without any specification – Held, It emerges that prescription of qualification for a post is a matter of recruitment policy and it is for State as an employer which is entitled to prescribe qualification and whether particular qualification should or should not be regarded as equivalent is a matter for recruiting authority to determine and holding of a higher qualification could pre-suppose acquisition of a lower qualification has to be prescribed in Recruitment Rules and absence of such a rule makes a crucial difference to ultimate outcome as held, Facts of case when respondent No.2 has considered degree holders eligible for appointment to post as they are having higher qualification same cannot be interfered – Petitions dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
1. In this group of three petitions, the petitioners have challenged the action of the respondent No.2-District Panchayat Service Selection Committee in deleting the name of the petitioners from the Select List and including the names of the candidates having educational qualification other than what is prescribed in para 3.1 of the advertisement which requires a candidate to possess either two or three years Diploma in Agriculture or Bachelor degree in Rural Studies.
2. As the facts in all these three petitions are similar, the same were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common order. For the sake of convenience, facts are taken from Special Civil Application No. 12008 of 2017 treating it as a lead matter.
2.2 The respondent No.2-District Panchayat Selection Committee issued advertisement inviting application for the post of Gram Sevak in November 2016. The advertisement prescribed the requisite qualification to be Diploma in Agriculture of either two or three years or Bachelor in Rural Studies.
2.3 The petitioners preferred online application pursuant to the said advertisement and petitioners thereafter appeared and cleared the written test and name of the petitioners appeared in the provisional list published by the respondent No.2.
2.4 It is the case of the petitioners that when the petitioners were called for the verification of documents, they were conveyed that the candidates having prescribed qualification as per Clause 3 of the advertisement were only the eligible candidates. However, when the select list was prepared by the respondent No.2, the names of the petitioners did not appear in the Select List but names of some other candidates who were not having the prescribed qualification of either two year or three year Diploma in Agriculture or BRS were included in the Select List. The petitioners, therefore, preferred these petitions challenging the action of the respondent No.2.
3. After issuance of the notice by this Court, the petitioners sought amendment to join respondent Nos. 3 and 4 who have been appointed on the post of Gram Sevak possessing the Degree of BSc [Agriculture] which according to the petitioners, is not a valid degree as per the Recruitment Rules and the advertisement issued. By order dated 07.02.2020, the draft amendment was granted joining the respondent Nos. 3 and 4 in the petitions.
4. It appears that Special Civil Application No. 12008 of 2017 was decided by this Court along with the other group of matters in which, the question as to whether the candidates from zone of consideration eligible for appointment of Gram Sevak can be eliminated on the ground that the Degree of BRS in subject of Home Science even though the relevant Rule prescribed the qualification to be the Degree of BRS without any further specification. The petitioners therefore preferred Misc. Civil Application No.1 of 2018 for review of the aforesaid judgement dated 23.02.2018 on the ground that the facts of the present petition was different and could not have been included in the group of petitions decided by the Court as the issue arising in this petition pertains only to the consideration of the petitioners as eligible candidates having degree in BRS. This Court [Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice N.V.Anjaria], by order dated 29.01.2019, allowed the Misc. Civil Application for review recalling the order dated 23.02.2018. Similar order was passed in Special Civil Application Nos. 12009 of 2017 and 12010 of 2017.
5. Heard learned Senior Advocate Mr. Gautam Joshi assisted by learned advocate Mr. Vyom Shah appearing for the petitioners in all the matters, learned advocate Mr. H.S.Munshaw for respondent No.2, learned advocate Ms. Kruti Shah for respondent No.3 and learned advocate Mr. Mehul Sharad Shah for respondent No.3 in Special Civil Application No. 12010 of 2017, learned Assistant G
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