N. SHAJI Vs. PSC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In O.P. No. 14198 of 1997 the Public Service Commission as per Ext. P1 notification dated 3.11.1992 invited applications for appointment to the post of Tradesman (Machinist/Machineshop) in the Department of Technical Education. Pursuance to the above notification the petitioner applied for the above post. The following are the qualifications prescribed for the above post:

(2.) In OP No. 17954 of 1997 the petitioner applied for the post of Surveyor Grade - II. The qualifications prescribed for the above post are as follows:

(3.) Shri. S. Gopakumaran Nair, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the qualifications which the petitioner possessed, even though higher than the prescribed qualifications must be treated as equivalent to the qualifications prescribed for the post. Therefore, according to him, a higher qualification like Diploma in Engineering will definitely fit into the prescribed qualification of a Certificate from ITI. The further argument submitted by the learned counsel is that he applied for the post as early as 1992, passed written test, called for interview and finally included in the short list. To be told after five long years of waiting that you are unqualified to be selected and appointed to the post is definitely arbitrary. The learned counsel also wants to invoke the doctrine of legitimate expectation in this case. Shri. O. V. Radhakrishnan, learned Standing Counsel for the PSC submits that the qualifications prescribed in the notification must be satisfied in the case of all the candidates and no other qualification even it be higher cannot be accepted as prescribed qualification. The learned counsel relies on R.10(a) of the KS & SSR as amended by GO (P) No. 8/94 dated 3.2.1994 which reads as follows: