ORDER

1. The petitioner has filed the present petition seeking direction to the respondents to consider his graduation certificate issued by the Indian Army for appointment to the post of Madhyamik Shikshak (English).

Petitioner’s case

2. The petitioner passed the Higher Secondary Examination (12th) and thereafter joined the Indian Army to the post of Havaldar. After discharging more than 15 years of continuous service in the Indian Army, he was issued a Combined Certificate of Discharge and Recommendation for Civil Employment which is equivalent to the Graduation certificate issued by any recognized university. The Indian Army is competent to issue a graduation certificate to the army personnel by virtue of their 15 years of service in the Indian Army. The petitioner had also passed the diploma in education (two years Course) in the year 1999 from the Board of Secondary Education, Bhopal.

3. The State Government framed the Rules called the Madhya Pradesh School Education Service (Teaching Cadre) Service Conditions and Recruitment Rules, 2018 (in short '' Rules, 2018'') for recruitment to the teaching staff in the school education department as mentioned in Schedule-1 and Schedule -2. Rule 5 provides a method of recruitment. As per sub Rule 4 of 5 Rules,2018, the recruitment to the service shall be made by selection through eligibility examination under direct recruitment and by promotion. The Educational qualifications are provided under Rule 8(2), and the candidate is required to mandatory to pass the Teaching Eligibility Examination with percentage as prescribed in sub-rule (5) of Rule-11 for direct recruitment on the post of teacher.

4. The respondents have conducted the Middle School Teacher Eligibility Teacher Test-2018 through the Professional Examination Board in which the petitioner appeared for the post of Madhyamik Shikshak (English) and was declared qualified with 88.35 marks. The name of the petitioner has not been included in the final selection list as he is not having a bachelor’s degree in the relevant subject. Hence, the petitioner has approached this Court challenging the action of the respondents on the ground that the graduation certificate issued by the Indian Army is liable to be considered as the graduation certificate for the post in question. Hence, he is liable to be considered for the post of Madhyamik Shikshak (English).

Reply by the respondents

5. Respondents No.1 to 3 have filed a reply by contending that the petitioner applied to the post of Madhyamik Shikshak (English) and as per Rules, 2018 for this post he must possess a bachelor’s degree in the English subject. Since the petitioner is not having a bachelor’s degree in English Subject, therefore he has rightly been denied for selection. The Commissioner of Public Education vide order dated 19.04.2022 has clarified that for the post of Madhyamik Shikshak (English), the candidature of those candidates shall be considered who is having a graduation degree as the main subject of English, therefore, the petitioner cannot be appointed contrary to the qualification prescribed in the statutory rules.

Submissions of the learned counsel of the petitioner

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that Rules 6 (4) of Ex-Servicemen (Re-employment in Central Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979 provides that for appointment to any reserved vacancy in Group 'C' posts, a matriculate Ex-serviceman who has obtained the Indian Army Special Certificate of Education and who has put in not less than 15 years of service in the Armed Forces of the Union may be considered eligible for appointment to the posts for which the essential educational qualification prescribed is graduation. Learned counsel further submits that the petitioner has passed the Secondary School Examination with English Course, thereafter, Higher Secondary School Examination (10+2) with English Subject and diploma in Education with English as a second language and in both the examination he got