The employer's specified eligibility criteria for a position must be strictly followed, and the court's scope of judicial review in such matters is limited.

ORDER :

1. Heard learned counsel for petitioner and the learned Additional Advocate General for Telangana State Public Service Commission, for Social Welfare Department and the Residential Societies.

2. The Telangana State Public Service Commission issued Notification No. 29 of 2017 on 2.6.2017 calling for applications for recruitment to the post of Principal (School) in the schools run by the Residential Educational Institutions Societies, Social Welfare, Backward Classes Welfare, Minorities Welfare and Tribal Welfare. Petitioner responded to this notification and participated in the recruitment process. Petitioner is not subjected to further selection process on the ground that he does not have administrative experience prescribed in paragraph-4 of the recruitment notification.

3. According to averments in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition, petitioner obtained B.Sc. degree in the year 1999 and B.Ed. with methodology in Mathematics and Physics in the year 2007. He worked as Mathematics Teacher in Government recognized high schools from June, 2007 to April, 2010 and from June, 2010 to April, 2014. He obtained M.Sc. (Mathematics) degree through distance education mode in the year 2014 and worked as Principal of Government recognized Junior College from June, 2014 to 28.03.2018. Petitioner thus claimed that he has total teaching experience of more than seven years and administrative experience of more than three years. Petitioner name was included in the list of disqualified candidates on the ground that he lacks teaching experience after acquiring Post Graduation in 2014. Petitioner and others filed batch of writ petitions. Disqualifying list published by the Public Service Commission was set aside and matters were remanded to the Public Service Commission to examine each individual case and to pass individual speaking orders. In pursuant to the directions of the Hon’ble Court, orders were passed on 22.07.2019 rejecting the candidature of the petitioner. The rejection is on the ground that after acquiring Post Graduation petitioner did not have required teaching experience and teaching experience gained prior to the Post Graduation cannot be counted. The claim for administrative experience is also rejected on the ground that administrative experience as Vice-Principal and academic administrator cannot be considered.

4. According to the learned counsel for petitioner, rejection of candidature of petitioner on both grounds is ex-facie illegal and clearly points out to total non-application of mind. According to the learned counsel, the teaching experience gained by the petitioner from the year 2007 cannot be ignored. Further, the petitioner gained administrative experience while working as Principal, whereas his administrative experience is rejected erroneously by holding that he has worked as Vice-Principal. Learned counsel placed reliance on the administrative experience certificates issued by the College placed as Ex.P5 and at Page No. 31.

5. The claim of the petitioner that he worked as Principal is not correct. According to the certificate at Ex.P5, the status of the petitioner was described as “Academic Administrator as Principal” and the certificate was issued by the Principal of Nagarjuna (Vocational) Junior College, Gajwel. The certificate at Page-31 was issued by the Principal, TPG High School, Alirajpet, showing the administrative experience as “Academic Administrator as Vice-Principal.” Petitioner has not explained how he has claimed to have worked as Principal when the certificate was issued by another Principal. The certificate described the status of “Academic Administrator as Principal” but petitioner has not explained as to how the post called academic administrator as Principal existed in addition to a post of Principal, and in that post petitioner gained administrative experience. The earlier academic administrator experience claimed by the petitioner from June, 2010 to April, 2014 was in the capac