ASHA KUMARI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts which are not in dispute in the present proceeding under Article 226 of the Constitution of India are that pursuant to an advertisement issued vide Advt. No. 03 of 2016 by the Bihar Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as the B.P.S.C.) inviting applications for the post of Lecturer in Physical and Health Education, the petitioner had applied as a Scheduled Caste category candidate. Qualification of M.P. Ed. was prescribed as one of the minimum eligibility criteria prescribed for the post in the advertisement. A written examination was held, in which, the petitioner, among various other candidates was declared successful. The B.P.S.C. thereafter came out with an interview programme on 26/5/2020 for the candidates, who were declared successful in the written examination. Clause 3 of the interview programme clearly prescribed that the candidates would be obliged to bring all certificates in original for the purpose of verification with two self attested copies thereof. As per the interview programme, a copy of which has been brought on record by way of Annexure D to the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the B.P.S.C, the original degree certificate of having acquired post-graduation in Physical and Health Education (M.P. Ed.) was one of such certificates which a candidate was required to produce at the time of interview. It was categorically mentioned in the note under Clause 3 of the interview programme that the certificates relating to educational qualification to be submitted at the time of interview must have been issued on or before the last date of submission of application forms. A separate interview letter was issued to the petitioner wherein the requirements of submission of original certificates at the time of interview, as mentioned in the interview programme, were reiterated. It was also reiterated in the note below clause 2 of the interview letter that all educational certificates to be produced for verification must have been issued on or before the last date of submission of application form i.e. 22/6/2016. The petitioner was required to participate in the interview before the B.P.S.C. on 24/6/2020.

(2.) This is not in dispute that the petitioner did not have in her possession the original certificate in support of having obtained M.P. Ed. Degree. This is also not in dispute that till the said date of 22/6/2016, the degree certificate was, as a matter of fact, not issued by the University (Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chattisgarh), from where the petitioner claimed to have pursued her course.

(3.) The petitioner appeared for the interview. The final result of the interview was published on 4/7/2020 based on which the recommendations were made by the B.P.S.C. whereafter appointments have been made. The petitioner's name was not recommended as she had failed to produce original M.P. Ed. certificate though she had with her the mark-sheet of having passed the examination, original of which she had produced at the time of interview. It is the petitioner's case that candidates with inferior merit have been recommended for appointment against vacancy reserved for Scheduled Caste category candidates and petitioner's candidature has been rejected merely on the ground that she failed to produce her original M.P. Ed. Degree certificate at the time of interview. In the background of the aforesaid facts that the petitioner has sought for a direction to the B.P.S.C. for consideration of her case for selection, as according to her, rejection of her candidature on technical ground of non-submission of original degree certificate in Physical and Health Education (M.P. Ed.) at the time of interview is wholly unjustified, illegal arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. She is seeking a direction to the B.P.S.C. to publish her result for the post of Lecturer in question after allowing her reasonable opportunity to produce in original, the said certificate. The petitioner has, however, admitted that she could not get the said certificate at the time of interview despite the fact that she had already applied for the same but it was mainly because of complete lockdown in force all over the country, consequent upon the outbreak of COVID-19.