C K SUNIL Vs. K P S C

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Judgment of the Court was delivered by -Appellants in these cases applied for the post of Surveyor Grade II in pursuance to Ext. P-1 notification. Qualifications prescribed in the Special Rules for the post are the following:

(2.) MAIN contention of the appellants is that even though Degree or Diploma in Civil Engineering is not made mention of in the Special Rules, it is a higher qualification than I. T. I. Survey Trade Certificate. They also relied on the decision of the Supreme Court of India in Jyothi, K. K. and others v. Kerala Public service Commission and others, J. T. 2002 (Suppl. 1) S. C. 85 in support of their contention. In that case, the question of selection of Sub Engineer in the Electricity Board was considered. There, the educational qualification prescribed for the post of Sub Engineer was diploma in Electrical Engineering from a recognised institute or a Certificate in electrical Engineering from any one of the recognised technical institutes along with five years experience. Some of the applicants were holders of B. Tech. Degree or bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering. The Supreme Court held that Degree in electrical Engineering is a higher qualification than Diploma in Electrical Engineering. It was further noticed that the promotion post of Sub Engineer is Assistant Executive engineer where the prescribed qualification is Degree in Electrical Engineering. In that circumstance, it was held that if the candidate has passed Degree in Electrical engineering, it can be treated as a higher qualification which presupposes the acquisition of Diploma in Electrical Engineering. Here, the position is entirely different. Degree or Diploma in Civil Engineering is not treated as a qualification or even as an alternate qualification for promotion from the post of Surveyor Grade II to Surveyor Grade I, Head Surveyor or Superintendent. At paragraph 18, the learned Single Judge held as follows:

(3.) THE learned counsel for the appellant relied on Rule 10 (a) (ii) of Part II of the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules, 1958 (for short KSSSR) which reads as follows: