VISWAM Vs. KERALA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PUBLIC Service Commission issued notification inviting applications for appointment to the post of Junior Health Inspector Grade II in the Kerala Municipal Common Service with the following qualifications. 1. S. S. L. C.

(2.) SANITARY Inspectors Certificate of Bombay or Madras , OR Health Inspectors Certificate, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College , OR SANITARY Inspector Certificate of All India Institute of local Self Government, Bombay, OR The Certificate in SANITARY Inspectors Course awarded by the National Council for Rural Higher Education , OR SANITARY Inspectors Training Course conducted by the rural Institute, Thavanur. Appellants and several other persons applied on the basis of the said notification. Appellants possess the qualification of SANITARY inspectors Certificate issued by the All India Institute of Local Self government, Bombay . Public Service Commission conducted written test on 19. 2. 2000. Appellants noticed that many of the persons who were not qualified were also called for the test, particularly those who have not passed the Health Inspectors certificate issued by the Trivandrum Medical College . According to them, Public Service Commission entertained applications of candidates with certificate in Health Inspectors Course issued by the Kerala health Services Department as equivalent to Health Inspectors Certificate issued by the Trivandrum Medical College. This, according to the appellants, is illegal. According to them, only those persons who possess Health Inspectors certificate Course conducted by the Medical College, Trivandrum or other equivalent qualifications prescribed in the notifications can only apply to the post. Placing reliance on the decisions of this Court in 1997 (1) KLT 704, latha v. P. S. C. 1997 (2) KLT 624, and Sunu v. Union of India (2000 (2) KLT 747), counsel submitted that Public Service Commission has no legal right to entertain applications of those persons having different qualifications which were not prescribed in the notification. 2. A detailed counter affidavit has been filed by the public Service Commission in the Writ Appeal. According to the Public Service commission, they have considered this issue with the Secretary to Government, local Self Government Department on the issuance of the notification. The commission was informed that Health Inspectors Course of the Kerala Health services Department can be treated as equivalent to the notified qualification for appointment to the post of Junior Health Inspector Grade II. Commission was informed that Health Inspectors Certificate Course conducted by the Trivandrum medical College has been discontinued and instead of this Junior Health inspectors Certificate course are conducted in Trivandrum and Kozhikode by the Health and Family Welfare Department itself.

(3.) R. 13 of the Kerala State and Subordinate Services rules states that no person shall be eligible for appointment to any service, class, category or grade or any post borne on the cadre thereof unless he possesses such special qualifications and has passed such special tests as may be prescribed in that behalf. We may extract the said provision for easy reference. 13. Special qualifications. No person shall be eligible for appointment to any service, class, category or grade or any post borne on the cadre therefore unless he (a) possesses such special qualifications and has passed such special tests as may be prescribed in that behalf in the Special Rules, or (b) possesses such other qualifications as may be considered to be equivalent to the said special qualifications or special tests. (i) by the Commission in cases where the appointment has to be made in consultation with it; or (ii) by the State Government or by the appointing authority with the approval of the State Government, in other cases. Provided that in the case of the ministerial staff of the different departments/ offices in the Kerala Judicial Ministerial Subordinate Service and in the Kerala Ministerial Subordinate Service the unified tests prescribed in G. O. (P) No. 22/63/pd dated 14th January 1963, as subsequently amended or clarified shall be applicable, until the Special Rules for the Kerala Judicial ministerial Subordinate Service or the Kerala Ministerial Subordinate Service as the case may be come into force. R. 10 of the Kerala State Subordinate Service Rules stipulates that educational or other qualifications, if any, required for a post shall be as specified in the Special Rules applicable to the service in which that post is included or as specified in the executive orders of government in cases where Special Rules have not been issued for the post/service. The post of Junior Health Inspector Grade II is included in the municipal Common Service. R. 13 of the K. S. & S. S. R. stipulates that persons who possess either the special qualifications as per rules or an equivalent qualification is qualified to be appointed. Equivalent qualification is one which satisfies the test of either clause (i) or clause (ii) of sub-r. (b) of r. 13 which indicates that either the Commission in a case where appointment has to be made in consultation with the Commission, or the Government, or the appointing authority with the approval of the Government, may recognise a qualification as an equivalent qualification. This is what has been done in the instant case. This question has been pointedly considered by the Apex Court in civil Appeal Nos. 1730-32/88 where the question of appointment to the post of ayurveda Pharmacist Grade II came up for consideration. Reversing the Bench decision of this Court, Apex Court held that the Commission did exercise their mind over the question of equivalent qualification after ascertaining the views of the appointing authority, and reached their conclusion in the light of relevant evidence and expressed their view when consulted by the Government. We are of the view that the principle laid down by the Apex Court is squarely applicable to the facts of this case as well. In such circumstances, we declare that P. S. C. and the State Government have got power under R. 13 of the K. S. & S. S. R. to prescribe which are equivalent qualifications. The Writ Appeal lacks merits and it is accordingly dismissed. . .