JUDGMENT :

KULDEEP TIWARI, J.

1. All these writ petitions are amenable for being decided through a common verdict on account of theirs inhering a common question of law and fact. In essence, the petitioners are aggrieved by the respondents’ decision declaring them ineligible for appointment to the post of Intelligence Assistant (in the respective ranks of Constable and Sub-Inspector) on the ground of non-fulfilment of the prescribed educational qualifications.

2. Concisely and compendiously, the respondent(s)-department, vide Advertisement No.1/2016 dated 01.09.2016 and Advertisement No.2/2016 dated 08.09.2016, invited online applications for direct recruitment to fill up vacancies of male and female Intelligence Assistants and Intelligence Officers, in the respective ranks of Constable and Sub- Inspector, in the Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police. The petitioners applied within the stipulated period and successfully cleared the physical efficiency test, whereafter they were permitted to appear in the written examination. However, upon scrutiny of documents by a duly constituted Committee, the petitioners were found ineligible on account of non-fulfilment of the prescribed educational qualifications.

3. Since the fulcrum of the dispute consists of the educational qualifications prescribed in the respective advertisements (supra), it is deemed imperative, at the outset, to advert to and examine the prescribed educational qualifications, which are reproduced hereinafter:-

“ADVT. NO.: 1/2016

C. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

The minimum educational qualification for direct recruitment as Intelligence Assistants (in rank of Constables) shall be as defined in Appendix 'B' (Sr. No. 04) of Punjab Intelligence Cadre (Group 'C') Service Rules, 2015 as amended by the Punjab Intelligence Cadre (Group 'C') Service (First Amendment) Rules, 2016:

(a) Should be a graduate from a recognized university or institution, as the case may be, provided that such candidate should also possess an ‘O’ Level Certificate of Information Technology from Department for Electronics Accreditation of Computer Course (DOEACC) or National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) or its equivalent institution recognized by the Government of India or any State Government;

OR

(b) B.Sc/B.Tech./BE in Information Technology or Computer Science or Information Systems or B.C.A or Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications from a recognized university or institution, as the case maybe.”

“ADVT. NO.: 2/2016

C. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

The minimum educational qualification for direct recruitment as intelligence Officers (in the rank of Sub- Inspectors) shall be as defined in Appendix 'B' (Sr. No. 01) of Punjab Intelligence Cadre (Group 'C') Service Rules, 2015 as amended by the Punjab Intelligence Cadre (Group 'C') Service (First Amendment) Rules, 2016:

(a) Should be a graduate from a recognized university or institution, as the case may be, provided that such candidate should also possess an ‘O’ Level Certificate of Information Technology from Department for Electronics Accreditation of Computer Course (DOEACC) or National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) or its equivalent institution recognized by the Government of India or any State Government;

OR

(b) B.Sc/B.Tech./BE in Information Technology or Computer Science or Information Systems or B.C.A or Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications from a recognized university or institution, as the case maybe.”

4. It has consistently been the case of the petitioners that they possess degrees of B.Sc. with Computer Science or qualifications higher than the ‘O’ Level Certificate of Information Technology from Department for Electronics Accreditation of Computer Course (hereinafter referred to as the “DOEACC”). Conversely, the respondents maintain that the petitioners do not possess the requisite qualifications, as prescribed, and that their candidature was, therefore, rightly rejected.

COLLECTI