SHAHID HAMEED Vs. UT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Pursuant to an indent/request received from the Department of Higher Education, Government of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission ["the PSC"] vide its Notification No.10-PSC (DR-P) of 2017 dtd. 27/10/2017 invited applications, inter alia, for ten (10) posts of Assistant Professor (Geology) which included five (5) posts in the open merit. As per the said Notification, the eligibility\ prescribed was as under:

(2.) The petitioner, being possessed of, amongst others, Master"s Degree in "Applied Geology" also applied for the post in question.

(3.) The case of the writ petitioner, as set up before the CAT was that he possessed Master"s Degree in Applied Geology which, as per the communication dtd. 19/12/2017 addressed by the Under Secretary to the Government, Higher Education Department, to the PSC, was a qualification equivalent to M.Sc. Geology and, therefore, the petitioner"s candidature could not have been rejected on the ground that he did not possess Post Graduate Degree in the "relevant subject" for being appointed as Assistant Professor (Geology). The petitioner also placed reliance upon the expert opinion tendered in this regard by the University of Jammu and University of Kashmir.