A professional degree disqualifies candidates from positions requiring standalone undergraduate degrees, reinforcing the hiring authority's discretion in recruitment criteria.

ORDER :

C.V. Karthikeyan, J.

The writ petition had been filed in the nature of a Mandamus seeking a direction against the respondents, particularly, the second respondent, Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, to select the petitioner to any of the posts advertised in notification No.7 of 2015, dated 30.04.2015, taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner had qualified herself with B.A. degree in academics and B.L. integrated degree, conferred by the Bharathidasan University/third respondent.

2.In the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition, it had been stated that the petitioner had qualified herself with B.A. B.L. degree conferred by the Bharathidasan University. It was an integrated course of five years. On completion of three years, the University confers the degree of Bachelor of Arts and on completion of five years, grants the degree of Bachelor of Law - five years integrated course. It had been contended that on the basis of the three year degree, which the petitioner had obtained as a part of the integrated course, the petitioner had applied for the post of Revenue Assistant consequent to the notification issued by the second respondent on 30.04.2015 in notification No.7 of 2015. The petitioner contended that the basic qualification required was an undergraduate degree and therefore claiming that as she possessed that particular degree, she had applied for that particular post. It had been stated that her application was processed and she was permitted to write the preliminary examination and on succeeding in it, she was also called to write the main examinations. She also attended the oral test. Thereafter, she was called for counselling, wherein, the certificates were verified and at that particular point of time, she came to know that the respondents do not recognise a degree which was encompassed in the five years integrated course. It had been stated that the respondents had advertised for as many as 618 posts of Revenue Assistants and had filled up only 245 posts and that there were also further vacancies still available and that the petitioner should therefore be accommodated in any one of the vacancies. Further contending that the rejection of her application or contemplation to reject the application on the ground that she had completed an integrated law course, the writ petition had been filed seeking a Mandamus as against the second respondent to take into consideration her qualification as B.A. in academics separately and B.L. integrated course in law and appoint her to the post of Revenue Assistant.

3.A Counter affidavit had been filed on behalf of the second respondent, who had contested the claim of the petitioner. It had been stated that the petitioner, in her application, had given her qualification as Bachelor of Oriental Learning (B.O.L.) and had also given the main subject as Law. It had been contended that since she had given the abbreviation B.O.L., her application was processed and she was permitted to write the examinations and also to attend the oral test and thereafter, when the certificates were examined, it was found that the petitioner had a professional degree and claiming that for the post of Revenue Assistant, possession of a professional degree would stand as a bar, it had been stated that the respondents are not in a position to offer employment to the petitioner even for the post of Revenue Assistant. An additional counter affidavit had thereafter been filed by the second respondent relating to the vacancy position and whether any posts were available to accommodate the petitioner. The deta