ORDER :

Kalyan Rai Surana, J.

1. Heard Mr. K.N. Choudhury, learned Senior counsel assisted by Mr. R.M. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. N. Deka, learned Standing counsel for the respondents.

2. By filing this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner is praying for setting aside the impugned e-mail dated 02.01.2019 issued by the respondent no. 3 to inform the petitioner that he was not eligible for consideration for the post of Junior Engineering Assistant-IV (Electrical); for a direction to the respondents to recall/cancel/rescind and/or forbear from giving effect to the said e-mail; and for a direction of the respondents to allow the petitioner to participate in the selection process.

3. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that after successfully passing out the High School Leaving Certificate Examination, 2010 (HSLC for short), conducted by Board of Secondary Education, Assam, he had completed training at Industrial Training Institute, Haflong (ITI for short) from August, 2010 to July, 2012 and passed the prescribed Trade Test in the Trade of Electrician held in the month of July, 2012 and in that regard, the National Council for vocational training had issued a National Trade Certificate to the petitioner. Thereafter, the petitioner had undergone (one) year apprenticeship training as Electrician under Apprenticeship Act, 1961 at the Guwahati Refinery of respondent no. 1 from 19.11.2013 to 18.11.2014. Thereafter, the petitioner had passed out All India Trade Test conducted in the month of April, 2015 by securing 377 out of 570 marks and he was awarded with a National Apprenticeship Certificate issued by the National Council for Vocational Training. Thereafter, in the month of August, 2018, the petitioner had obtained 3 (three) Year Diploma in Engineering/Technology from the State Council for Technical Education, Assam.

4. The respondent no. 1 had issued an advertisement dated 21.12.2018, amongst others, for filling up 5 (five) posts of Junior Engineering Assistant-IV (Electrical) from amongst passed out apprentices of Guwahati Refinery. Out of 5 posts advertised, 3 posts were for unreserved category, one post was reserved for SC category and one post was reserved for ST category. The petitioner had applied under unreserved category. As per the advertisement, qualification criteria for the said post was as follows-

"3 years Diploma in Electrical Engineering from recognized Institute/University with minimum of 50% marks in aggregate for General & OBC candidates & 45% in case of SC/ST/candidates against reserved positions and experience criteria for candidates who had completed apprenticeship training at Guwahati Refinery in the trade/discipline mentioned against the said post was as follows - "(a) Technician Apprentice-Electrical".

On 02.01.2019, the petitioner had received an e-mail from the respondent no. 3 to inform him that he was not eligible for consideration for the post in question as per advertisement dated 21.12.2018 as he had not undergone apprenticeship training in the Trade/Discipline of Technician Apprentice -Electrical after acquiring Diploma in Electrical Engineering. Thus, the aggrieved petitioner has filed this writ petition.

5. The learned senior counsel for the petitioner has referred to the provisions of Section 2(e), 2(j), 2(pp), 2(q), 3 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 and Schedule-IA of the Apprenticeship Rules, 1992 and it was submitted that the petitioner was duly qualified to participate in the selection process and that by the impugned e-mail, which was at the ipse dixit of the respondent no. 3, the respondents had ousted the petitioner from participating in the selection process. It is submitted that as per the employment advertisement, the only requirement was that the candidate must have qualification of "3 Year Diploma in Electrical Engineerin