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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SUNITA AGARWAL, N.V.ANJARIA, JJ.
State Of Gujarat – Appellant
Versus
Harshitkumar Bharatbhai Jani – Respondent
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1058 of 2022 In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8556 of 2020 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2022, R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1061 of 2022, In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15334 of 2019 With R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1060 of 2022 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16982 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2022 In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1060 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 2 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 2 of 2023, SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16982 of 2019, CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 3 of 2023, R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1059 of 2022 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15532 of 2019 With R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1038 of 2023 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8556 of 2020 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR INTERIM RELIEF) NO. 1 of 2023, R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1039 of 2023 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15334 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR INTERIM RELIEF) NO. 1 of 2023, With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR INTERIM RELIEF) NO. 2 of 2022 In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1039 of 2023, In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15532 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR INTERIM RELIEF) NO. 2 of 2022, In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15532 of 2019 With R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1041 of 2023 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16982 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR INTERIM RELIEF) NO. 1 of 2023 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16982 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR INTERIM RELIEF) NO. 2 of 2022 In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1041 of 2023
Decided on : 06-09-2023
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. appeal against judgment setting aside merit list. (Para 2 , 3) |
| 2. qualifications for livestock inspector defined. (Para 4 , 5 , 6) |
| 3. recognition of courses from vinayaka missions university. (Para 7 , 8 , 9) |
| 4. eligibility of petitioners' certificate challenged. (Para 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 5. distance learning regulations and veterinary qualifications. (Para 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 6. distance education bureau regulations discussed. (Para 16 , 17) |
| 7. university's territorial jurisdiction and course approval. (Para 18 , 19) |
| 8. importance of practical training for livestock inspectors. (Para 20 , 21) |
| 9. high court's decision on diploma validity referenced. (Para 22 , 23 , 24) |
| 10. competence of veterinary council emphasized. (Para 25 , 26 , 27) |
| 11. university's non-compliance with approval requirements. (Para 28 , 29 , 30) |
| 12. debate on the nature of the livestock inspector course. (Para 31 , 32 , 33) |
| 13. affirmation of regulatory authority by ugc. (Para 34 , 35 , 36) |
| 14. recognition of qualifications under government resolution. (Para 37 , 38 , 39) |
| 15. historical precedent for certificate recognition cited. (Para 40 , 41) |
| 16. affidavit details and university's authority presented. (Para 42 , 43) |
| 17. analysis of the legal standing of the course. (Para 44 , 45) |
| 18. central question of course recognition established. (Para 46 , 47) |
| 19. regulations defined for deemed universities. (Para 48 , 49) |
| 20. procedural compliance discussed. (Para 50 , 51 , 52) |
| 21. regaining compliance failure impacts qualification validity. (Para 53 , 54 , 55) |
| 22. institutional recognition limitations addressed. (Para 56 , 57) |
| 23. finality of decisions and implications for petitioners. (Para 58 , 59) |
| 24. concluding judgment on certificate recognition. (Para 60 , 61 , 62) |
JUDGMENT :
SUNITA AGARWAL, J.
1. Heard the learned counsels appearing for the parties and perused the record.
2. This bunch of intra-court appeals is directed against the judgment and order dated 8.2.2023 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.8556 of 2020 and connected other matters, allowing the writ petitions, setting aside the merit list of Livestock Inspectors, which has been prepared after deletion of the names of the writ petitioners/respondents herein. The State is directed to consider the case of the petitioners as they have been held entitled to be appointed to the posts of Livestock Inspectors, pursuant to the advertisement for the said post, against which they had applied. Consequential benefits including seniority with notional benefits from the date of their appointment as per the advertisement, have also been granted.
3. We may note, at the outset, that on the factual aspects of the matter and while mentioning various communications placed by the learned counsels for the parties, reference has been made to the paper-books of Letters Patent Appeal Nos.1060 of 2022 and 1058 of 2022 in this judgment.
4. The dispute, in the instant case, is with regard to the fulfillment of eligibility criteria by the writ petitioners for the post of Livestock Inspector, recruitment to which is to be made in accordance with the rules viz. Livestock Inspector, Class III in the subordinate services of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry Recruitment (Amendment) Rules, 2017 (‘Amended Rules 2017’ for short). As per the unamended Rules 2016, notified on 11.4.2016, the eligibility qualification for the post of Livestock Inspector was as follows:
“Clause 3 of the Rules states that to be eligible for appointment, the candidate shall have passed three years diploma in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry or Diploma in Animal Husbandry from any universities established or incorporated under the central or a state Agricultural or Veterinary University Act and recognised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).”
5. By notification dated 9.2.2017, the Recruitment Rules, 2016 were amended and the following qualification was added:
“or a certificate of livestock inspector course of at least one ye
AI
A university cannot run an Off-Campus Study Centre outside the territorial jurisdiction of the State in which it is situated without statutory provisions promulgated by the Central Legislature.
The central legal point established in the judgment is the reliance on the recognition and approval of the University by the Distance Education Council, Indira Gandhi National Open University for det....
Degrees from recognized universities cannot be invalidated due to the college's non-inclusion in the Indian Veterinary Council Act's schedule, protecting students' rights to registration.
Deemed universities must comply with UGC guidelines for distance education; degrees awarded without prior approval are invalid.
Off-campus study centers require prior approval of the UGC and the State Government, and appointments made contrary to this requirement are liable to be canceled.
Employers can prescribe qualifications for recruitment but cannot arbitrarily exclude valid certificates, particularly those recognized by law.
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