The court emphasized the relevance and equivalence of the qualification possessed by the petitioners, as opined by the University of Jammu and University of Kashmir, and highlighted the importance of expert opinion in determining the eligibility for a specific post.

JUDGMENT :

(Sanjeev Kumar, J.)

1. Pursuant to an indent/request received from the Department of Higher Education, Government of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission ['the PSC'] vide its Notification No. 10-PSC (DR-P) of 2017, dated 27.10.2017 invited applications, inter alia, for ten (10) posts of Assistant Professor (Geology) which included five (5) posts in the open merit. As per the said Notification, the eligibility prescribed was as under:

(a) Good academic record as defined by the concerned University with at least with 55% marks (50% excluding any grace marks, in case of scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Differently-abled (physically and visually differently abled) Categories/Ph.D degree holders, who have obtained their Master's Degree prior to 19th September, 1999) or an equivalent grade in a point scale where grading system is followed at the Master's Degree level in the relevant subject form an Indian University, or an equivalent “degree” form an accredited foreign University;

(b) The candidate must have cleared NET/SLET/SET Conducted by the UGC, CSIR/AIU;

(c) The candidate who are, or have been awarded a PH.D Degree in accordance with the University Grants Commissioner (minimum standards and procedure for Award of PH.D degree regulations), 2009 shall be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET/SET, and;

(d) NET/SLET/SET shall also not be required for such Master's Programmes in disciplines for which NET/SLET/SET is not conducted.

2. The petitioners, being possessed of, amongst others, Master's Degree in 'Applied Geology' also applied for the post in question. However, the PSC, on scrutiny, found the petitioners not eligible for the post and, accordingly vide notice dated 26.03.2019 rejected candidatures of the petitioners. It is this Notification issued by the PSC which was subject matter of challenge before the Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench ['CAT'] in TA No. 62/1117/2021.

3. The case of the writ petitioners, as set up before the CAT was that they possessed Master's Degree in Applied Geology which, as per the communication dated 19.12.2017 addressed by the Under Secretary to the Government, Higher Education Department, to the PSC, was a qualification equivalent to M.Sc. Geology and, therefore, the petitioners' candidatures could not have been rejected on the ground that he did not possess Post Graduate Degree in the 'relevant subject' for being appointed as Assistant Professor (Geology). The petitioners also placed reliance upon the expert opinion tendered in this regard by the University of Jammu and University of Kashmir.

4. The applications of the petitioners were contested by Respondents No. 1 to 3 by submitting that M.Sc. in Applied Geology was not the same qualification as M.Sc. in Geology and, therefore, the PSC was correct in rejecting the candidatures of the petitioners on the ground of their ineligibility to apply for the post in question.

5. The CAT, after considering the rival contentions and vide its judgment dated 07.12.2021, impugned in this petition, approved the view taken by the PSC with regard to the ineligibility of the petitioners. The CAT held that it was the prerogative of the user Department to stipulate the qualifications for the post in its establishment and once the qualifications prescribed in the advertisement were treated as essential, there was no way to ignore them. Relying upon the judgments of the Supreme Court rendered in the cases of Zahoor Ahmad Rather v. Sheikh Imtiyaz Ahmad (2019) 2 SCC 404 and Zonal Manager, Bank of India, Zonal Office Kochi v. Aarya K. Babu, (2019) 8 SCC 587, the CAT came to the conclusion that it was the prerogative of the concerned Department to prescribe the qualification for the post and the Courts cannot enter the arena of finding out the equivalence, more so, when the Recruitmen