PRANAB MAJUMDER Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by the candidates, who had applied for the various posts of Senior Instructors such as Senior Instructor (Mechanical), Senior Instructor (Civil) etc. but were not selected for the posts in question. Their grievance is that the respondents No.4 to 8 have been wrongly held to be qualified for the posts in question, selected and appointed for the said posts. Learned counsel for the petitioners pointed out that the State Government had invited eligible candidates for appointment to the post of Senior Instructors, Grade-II (Engineering Group) under an advertisement dated 30th of April, 2016. All the petitioners who are admittedly qualified had applied for the posts in question. According to the petitioners, the respondents No.4 to 8 did not possess necessary educational and technical qualifications despite which they were selected and appointed. In this context, counsel for the petitioners drew my attention to the Recruitment Rules for the post of Senior Instructor, ITI, for Engineering Group under the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Tripura. As per Rule 7 of the said Rules, the qualifications required were as under:

(2.) According to the petitioners, the respondents No.4 to 8 were not qualified since they possessed Degrees and not Diploma in the relevant field.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioners in the background of such facts submitted that the private respondents were ineligible despite which they were selected and appointed on the respective posts. He submitted that the qualifications prescribed in the Recruitment Rules had to be followed. As per the Rules, the Degree holders were not eligible for appointment. He relied on a decision of Supreme Court in case of Zahoor Ahmad Rather and others v. Sheikh Imtiyaz Ahmad and others, reported in (2019) 2 SCC 404 in support of his contention that higher qualification would not be a substitute for the basic qualifications prescribed under the Recruitment Rules.