The judgment establishes that eligibility conditions and classifications in recruitment must be based on reasonable criteria with a rational nexus to the recruitment objective, and the rejection of candidates based on artificial inequalities is impermissible under Article 14.

JUDGMENT :

S.K. Panigrahi, J.

1. In both the above writ petitions, the petitioners have assailed the arbitrary action of the authority by not considering their candidature in the draft merit list. The petitioners have been allegedly excluded from the merit list merely on the ground that they have completed their graduation degree in Commerce (B.Com) and the B. Com degree course does not have any school subjects.

2. The case, in a nutshell, is that, the School and Mass Education Department, Government of Orissa has decided to fill up the vacancies of different posts of Contractual Trained Graduate Teachers and Telugu Teachers in Government Secondary Schools of the State of Orissa in 2021. Accordingly, the Director of Secondary Education, Orissa Bhubaneswar-opposite party No.2 issued Advertisement/Notice on 28.08.2021. This notification carried the details of the conditions and norms which are applicable for the intending eligible candidates for recruitment against the existing vacancies of contractual Trained Graduate Teachers in Government Secondary Schools of Odisha.

3. As per the advertisement, online registration would commence from 04.09.2021 and would continue till 30.09.2021 up to 6.00 P.M. The minimum academic and professional qualification as prescribed under clause-5B of the said Advertisement for the post of Trained Graduate Teachers Arts reads as follows :

"1. Bachelor Degree in Arts/Commerce or a Shastri (Sanskrit) Degree from a recognized university with two school subjects (school subjects as defined in the proviso here under) from a recognized university having 50% marks in aggregate (45% for SC/ST/PWD/SEBC candidates) and Bachelor in Education (B. Ed)/3 years integrated B.Ed-M.Ed from a NCTE recognized institution.

Or

2. Four-year integrated B.A. B. Ed from a NCTE recognized institution with two school subjects (school subjects as defined in the proviso here under) having 50% marks in aggregate (45% for SC/ST/PWD/SEBC candidates).

Provided that :

In any case the candidate must have passed the Bachelor Degree with any two school subjects offered as Pass/Hons/Elective/Optional/Compulsory subject out of the following:

English, Odia, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Economics, Political Science, Indian Economy, Landmarks in Indian History, Indian Geography, Indian Polity.”

4. Accordingly, the petitioners applied for the post by the due date and the examination was held on the scheduled date. As the petitioners fulfilled all the criteria i.e. educational qualifications as prescribed in the Advertisement, after completion of the examination, the petitioners participated in the process of verification of documents. Subsequently, the opposite parties issued notice on 26.11.2021 to intimate the candidates regarding the post-wise draft merit list and post-wise draft rejection list for candidates who had appeared in the online test of C.B.T held from 25.10.2021 to 28.10.2021 and had gotten their documents verified from 18.11.2021 to 23.11.2021.

5. On verification of the said draft list, the present petitioners found themselves featuring on the post-wise draft rejection list and the ground of rejection as assigned to them, is noted to be “not having two school subjects in Bachelor Degree as prescribed" and "lack of two school subjects in B.com".

6. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that after coming to know of their rejection, the petitioners raised their objections stating therein that the ground for rejection is arbitrary, illegal and unsustainable. The learned counsel for the petitioners further submitted that the petitioners held a Bachelors degree in Commerce i.e. a B.Com Degree, wherein in the syllabus of the Bachelors Course there is a subject called Business Economics which has the same syllabus of Economics, which is a compulsory subject in the course and this is common in all B.Com degrees throughout the State of Odisha. Thus, they studied Economics as one of the compulsory subjects in their Bachelors Course, howeve