NAVJIWAN Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of a bunch of petitions bearing CWP Nos. 15308, 11563, 13279, 14825 and 15287 of 2010, as common questions of law and facts are involved.

(2.) The issue involved is as to whether the petitioners are eligible for the post of Junior Draftsman (Civil) and Junior Draftsman (Mechanical). Learned counsel for the petitioner in CWP No. 15308 of 2010 submitted that 50 posts of Junior Draftsman (Civil/Mechanical) were advertised. The qualification required for the post is certificate in Civil/ Mechanical Draftsman awarded by State Board of Technical Education or from any other recognized institution. The petitioner, who belongs to Scheduled Caste (Balmiki) category, passed diploma in Civil Engineering from Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training in the year 2008 in second division. In response to the advertisement issued, he applied for the post of Junior Draftsman. In terms of the conditions laid down in the advertisement, selections were to be made merely on the basis of marks obtained in written test. The petitioner was considered eligible and was permitted to appear in the competitive examination. He obtained 45 marks. At the time of counselling, the petitioner was required to produce two years trade certificate of Civil/Mechanical Draftsmanship. As the petitioner was having higher qualification, he could not produce the aforesaid certificate. His candidature was rejected vide communication dated 15.6.2010 holding that the petitioner is not having the minimum qualification prescribed in the advertisement. He further submitted that in the category of the petitioner, the persons, who secured marks less than the petitioner, were appointed.

(3.) As far as qualification of the petitioner is concerned, learned counsel submitted that on 4.9.2013, considering the contentions raised by learned counsel for both the parties, this court referred the matter to the Director, PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh, to opine as to whether the qualification possessed by the petitioner can be equated with the qualification required for the post as prescribed in the advertisement. The report has been received, in terms of which the opinion expressed by the Committee constituted by Director, PEC University of Technology is that three years Diploma in Architectural Assistanceship/ three years Diploma in Civil Engineering can be considered as higher qualifications in the similar field/trade or specialization as that of the certificate in Civil/ Mechanical Draftsman.