Jagdeep Kaur and Others vs State of Punjab and Others

Tejinder Singh Dhindsa, J.—The Subordinate Services Selection Board, Punjab issued advertisement dated 03.11.2012 at Annexure P-2 inviting applications for filling up various posts including 72 posts of School Librarian and 13 posts of Assistant Librarian. The essential educational qualifications/technical qualifications prescribed for the post of School Librarian was 10+2 from a recognized board/university along with two years Library Science Diploma. Insofar as the post of Assistant Librarian was concerned, the educational qualification prescribed was 10th pass and the technical qualification required was a three years Library Science Diploma along with two years experience on library work. It has been pleaded that the petitioners had applied for the post of School Librarians and Assistant Librarians being eligible on account of possessing the essential educational as also technical qualifications. In pursuance to the selection process, a list of eligible candidates was drawn out and the names of all the petitioners figured at different serial numbers against the respective category i.e. general category/backward class category as the case may be. It so transpires that certain candidates, who possessed a higher qualification i.e. Degree of Bachelor of Library Science and who had been considered as ineligible in the light of advertisement dated 03.11.2012 approached this Court by filing CWP No. 25202 of 2012 titled as Ritika Sareen & others Vs. State of Punjab & others raising a grievance that candidates possessing higher qualifications than the prescribed minimum cannot be excluded from being considered for appointment to the post of School Librarian and Assistant Librarian. In such writ petition, the State Government responded in terms of a decision having been conveyed to the Court that candidates possessing higher qualifications of Bachelor of Library Science (B. Lib.) and Master of Library Science (M. Lib.) would also be considered eligible for the post in question. Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of as having been rendered infructuous. On 06.08.2013 taking necessary corrective action, the Subordinate Services Selection Board, Punjab issued a public notice at Annexure P-22 dated 13.09.2013 inviting applications even from such candidates who possessed higher qualifications than the prescribed minimum contained in the initial advertisement dated 03.11.2012. Apparently, in such process, the merit list has been recast and the instant petitioners now find themselves at an inferior position i.e. lower in merit on account of the zone of consideration for the post of School Librarian and Assistant Librarian having been enlarged.

The present writ petition has been instituted raising a claim that since the petitioners possess the essential prescribed qualifications as mentioned in the initial advertisement dated 03.11.2012 and also possess the higher qualifications of B. Lib/M. Lib, certain weightage towards such higher qualifications should be accorded. The prayer is for the issuance of a writ of mandamus for calling upon respondent-authorities to quash the subsequent select list at Annexures P-23 to P-26 as also subsequent public notice dated 13.09.2013 and to re-conduct the entire exercise of selection by affording certain extra weightage to the petitioners on account of the higher qualifications possessed by them.

Counsel for the petitioner has been heard at length.

I am of the considered view that no interference in the present case is warranted. The petitioners had applied for the post of School Librarian/Assistant Librarian in the light of advertisement dated 03.11.2012. Their candidature under law would be governed strictly in terms of the conditions of eligibility/selection criteria contained therein. The subsequent public notice dated 13.09.2013 at Annexure P-22 merely operates so as to include within the list of eligible candidates, such candidates who possessed higher qualification than the prescribed minimum/essential qualifications for the post in question. The issue with regard to prescribing qualification, eligibility criteria and affording weightage for a particular qualification if any would lie strictly within the domain of the Recruiting Agency/experts. Counsel has not been able to make out any case for this Court to return a finding that the essential qualifications, eligibility criteria or the selection criteria for the post of School Librarian/Assistant Librarian is arbitrary or patently erroneous.

Even otherwise the petitioners who had applied in response to the initial advertisement dated 03.11.2012 possessed the higher qualifications i.e. over and above the prescribed essential minimum qualifications even at that stage. No such prayer for being afforded extra weightage was raised at the relevant point of time. Merely on account of the fact that subsequently candidates possessing higher qualifications have also been considered eligible in the light of public notice dated 13.09.2013 at Annexure P-22 and which resultantly has pushed the petitioners at an inferior position in the list of selected candidates cannot be construed as a valid ground to pray for some extra weightage on account of possessing higher qualifications. For the reasons recorded above, I find no basis in the present writ petition and the same is accordingly dismissed.