JAINENDRA KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed for directing the respondent- Bihar Public Service Commission (hereinafter to be referred to as the "B.P.S.C.") to grant 04 more marks to the petitioner in the selection process being undertaken for making appointment on the post of Assistant Professor, pursuant to the Advertisement no. 50 of 2014, in view of the fact that the petitioner possesses M. Phil degree as per the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 with NET.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that the respondent-B.PS.C. published an advertisement bearing Advertisement no. 50 of 2014 for filling up vacancies on the post of Assistant Professor in different subjects, in pursuance whereof, the petitioner had also applied for the post of Assistant Professor in Hindi subject. The petitioner is stated to have acquired his M. Phil Degree from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi in the year 2014 in Hindi subject. The petitioner, having been found eligible, was selected for interview and he was placed at serial no. 962 in the list of eligible candidates, however in front of the name of the petitioner, in the said list of eligible candidates, it was mentioned that though the petitioner has passed NET and obtained M. Phil degree but the M. Phil degree is without U.G.C. Regulations, 2009. The petitioner had then sent his documents to the B.P.S.C. by E-mail, regarding him having obtained M. Phil Degree in Hindi as per the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 and had requested the B.P.S.C. to correct his status in the list of eligible candidates by mentioning the same as NET + M. Phil as per the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009. Thereafter, an interview letter was issued to the petitioner and he had appeared in the interview, however he was not selected finally, which the petitioner came to know after the final result was published on 12/2/2019 by the B.P.S.C.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner has obtained M. Phil degree from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi and it would be apparent from the certificate dtd. 18/5/2018, issued by the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi that the petitioner fulfils the Minimum Standard and Procedures for the completion and award of M.Phil Degree in accordance with the then existing ordinance of the University and the provisions of the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009. The learned counsel for the petitioner has also referred to the certificate dtd. 3/3/2017, issued by the Assistant Registrar of the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, where it has been certified that the petitioner has successfully completed M.Phil Programme in the year 2014 and the process of admission, registration, course-work and evaluation were followed as prescribed by the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 with regard to the award of degree of the said programme by the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi. The learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that a bare perusal of the advertisement under the heading 'Educational Qualification' at Clause 3 would show that the candidates who have obtained Ph.D. degree on the basis of Minimum Standard and Procedures Regulations, 2009, framed by the University Grants Commission for M.Phil/ Ph.D. degree, shall be exempted from passing the NET exam. It is thus submitted that since the petitioner has already passed the NET exam, he should have been granted 04 more marks as per Sl. No. 3 of Schedule V to the aforesaid Advertisement which stipulates that 04 marks should be given to such candidates who possess M.Phil degree as per U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 with NET. It is also submitted that since the petitioner is possessing M.Phil degree as per U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 and has also passed NET, he is entitled to 04 marks and if the petitioner is granted 04 more marks, he would definitely qualify as a successful candidate. In any view of the matter, it is submitted that as per the terms and conditions mentioned under the heading "Educational Qualification", the only prescription is regarding a candidate possessing M.Phil degree as per the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 for being exempted from passing the NET Exam, thus since the petitioner has already passed the NET exam, M.Phil degree with or without complying with the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009 would not make any difference. The learned counsel for the petitioner has also referred to the rejoinder affidavit filed by the petitioner in the present case to submit that the petitioner had applied for being appointed as Guest Faculty/ part-time Teacher in pursuance to an advertisement issued by the B.N. Mandal University, Madhepura, Bihar in the year 2019 wherein the petitioner's M.Phil degree was considered to have been obtained as per the UGC Regulations, 2009, hence the B.P.S.C. should also consider the M.Phil degree of the petitioner to be one as per the U.G.C. Regulations, 2009.