SURYANARAYANA UPADHYAYA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who is a lecturer in Sanskrit at Government Junior College, Coondapoor, has prayed for the issue of writ of mandamus, directing respondents 1 and 2 to approve his appointment to the post of Lecturer.

(2.) The facts of the case in brief are as follows :The petitioner was appointed as Lecturer in Sanskrit at Government Junior College, Coondapoor on 12-8-1972. Before the appointment, the petititioner had passed Vidwat Uttama Examination conducted by the Department of Public Instruction in Second Class. When the question of the approval of the appointment of the petitioner came up for consideration, an endorsement dated 7-9-1973 (Annexure-F) was issued stating that the petitioner may be continued in service at his own risk pending decision of the Board of Pre-University Education regarding equivalence of the qualification possessed by the petitioner to the qualification prescribed for the post. A similar endorsement was given on 24 10-1973 (Anne- xure G). By that endorsement, the Director of Public Instruction informed as follows:

(3.) Therefore the only question that arises for consideration in this petition is whether the view taken by the respondents, that the petitioner did not possess the equivalent qualification is well founded. The qualification for the post of Lecturer in the Junior Colleges was fixed by means of an executive order of the State Government. This is incorporated in a circular dated 18-4-1974 (Annexure L) issued by the Director ot Pre-University Education. It reads