Seema and Others vs State of Rajasthan and Others

Alok Sharma, J.—The facts of the case are that the petitioners are holders of certificate of Adeeb issued in the year 2008 and Adeeb-e-mahir issued in the year 2010 by the Jamia Urdu Aligarh. It has been submitted that qualification of Adeeb is equivalent to Secondary Examination and Adeeb-e-Mahir as equivalent to Senior Secondary examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Ajmer Rajasthan (hereinafter ''the Board''). Albeit no equivalence/eligibility certificate relating to the petitioners has been issued by the Board, the petitioners have placed on record annexure-5 and 6, wherein purported eligibility certificate have been issued by the Board to others on the basis of Adeeb qualification in the year 2010 from Jamia Urdu Aligarh. The petitioners have submitted that annexure-5 and 6 illustratively establish that the course of Adeeb from Jamia Urdu Aligarh is equivalent to secondary school examination conducted by the Board. And so is the Adeeb-e-Mahir from Jamia Urdu Aligarh equivalent to the Senior Secondary School Examination of the Board, submitted the petitioners'' counsel.

It has been then submitted that pursuance to the advertisement e dated 19-6-2013 issued by Additional Director (Training) Medical and Health Services Jaipur for the ANM course, the petitioners applied for admission thereto. And on consideration of petitioners certificates of Adeeb and Adeeb-e-Mahir issued from Jamia Urdu Aligarh, treating the said courses equivalent to Secondary and Senior Secondary examination of the Board, they were admitted to ANM course on their merit in the Women Health Trailing Centre Dausa, Jaisalmer and Nokha respectively, paid the requisite fee and studied for the duration of Ist year completing the prescribed curriculum with attendance. However, subsequently the Additional Director (Trailing) Medical and Health Services issued letter dated 12-9-2014 to Chief Medical and Health Officers with respect to the purported invalidity of the certification of petitioners of Adeeb and Adeeb-e-Mahir from Jamia Urdu Aligarh as it was allegedly not equivalent to Secondary and Senior Secondary examination conducted by the Board as by virtue of order 5-7-2011 passed by the Board recognition of Adeeb and Adeeb-e-Mahir courses from Jamia Urdu Aligarh as equivalent with Secondary and Senior Secondary examinations of the Board had been cancelled and no candidate having such certification could continue in the ANM course. It has been submitted that consequently despite the petitioners having admitted to ANM course, studied for one after depositing required fee and participating in the course, they have been denied from writing the examination ANM Part-I commencing February, 2015. Aside of impugning the order dated 12-9-2014, the petitioners have submitted that the petitioners'' certificate of Adeeb and Adeeb-e-Mahir issued from Jamia Urdu Aligarh, in view of the purported de-recognition by the Board''s order dated 5-7-2011 cannot retrospectively render the petitioners ineligible subsequent to their admission in the ANM course on a certification prior thereof i.e. of 2010. It is submitted that even otherwise the respondents are estopped from preventing the petitioners from writing examination ANM course as the petitioners have expanded time and money in prosecuting the said ANM course.

Counsel for the petitioners has fairly admitted that the issue of validity or invalidity of certificates of Adeeb and Adeeb-e-Mahir from Jamia Urdu Aligarh has received different interpretation by the court. Consequently this court in S.B. Civil writ petition No. 3248/2013 vide order dated 27-4-2013 referred the matter to the Division Bench. And on the matter (writ petition No. 3248/2013) coming up before the Division Bench, vide order dated 1-10-2013 it has referred it to the Larger Bench. It has been submitted that in this view of the matter, during pendency of an authoritative pronouncement on eligibility/equivalence of Adeeb and Adeeb-e-Mahir issued from Jamia Urdu Aligarh with Secondary and Senior Secondary examination of the Board, the petitioners who were admitted in ANM course cannot be discontinued and prevented from writing examination of ANM training course commencing February, 2015.

Learned counsel for the Board Dr. Saugath Roy, has submitted that the issue sought to be agitated in the present writ petition has been recently decided by this court in Snehlata v. State of Rajasthan and others, S.B.C. writ petition No. 13731/2014 vide order dated 27-1-2015. For its decision this court relied on the judgment in case of State of Rajasthan (The) and Others Vs. Firdos Tarannum, , Sunita Singh and Others v. Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan Ajmer (S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 8864/2011) decided on 22-9-2011 as upheld by the Division Bench in D.B. Civil Special Appeal (Writ) No. 1942/2011 (Deepak Kumar Meena v. Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan Ajmer) decided on 20-4-2012.

Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.

This court in case of Snehlata v. State of Rajasthan and Others (supra) has held as under:--

"The position which emerges from the contention of counsel for the petitioner on the one hand and that of the respondents on the other is that Jamia Urdu Aligarh is not an institute which is established under the orders of the Central Government, State Government or University Grants Commission. Therefore it has no authority to issue any degree/certificate in respect of any course. The State of Rajasthan as early as in the year 1991 has notified that certificate of qualifications from Jamia Urdu Aligarh would not render a candidate holding its certificates/degree eligible for appointment in the State of Rajasthan and by logic induction into in any course in the state. In my considered opinion, an error in the induction/admission of the petitioner in the ANM course pursuant to advertisement 2013 by the Director Medical and Health Services Nagaur would not confer any right upon the petitioner, protection whereof would be warranted in exercise of the equitable extraordinary jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Aside of consideration of the application of the petitioner by the Chief Medical and Health Officer for her erroneous induction into the ANM course, it was the duty of the petitioner herself to ensure that she had the requisite qualifications for being admitted into the ANM training course. Thousands, if not lakhs, of applications are filed for admission to various courses or for appointment. The sheer volume is a prospect for the inadvertent inevitable human error. Hence aside of the obligation of the admitting college/institutions it is also the students/candidates'' duty to self assess honestly and bonafidely. An error cannot be the foundation of a legal right and trump the requirement of eligibility. Since the petitioner was wrongly inducted into the ANM course on the basis of a Adeeb-e-Mahir certificate issued by an unauthorised institute Jamia Urdu Aligarh, she is not entitled to continue in the ANM course." 7. In my considered view mere pendency of a matter with a Larger Bench is of no avail to petitioners for reasons set out in the order dated 27-1-2015 founded as it is upon the judgment of the Division Bench in the case of State of Rajasthan Firdos Tarannum (which in turn considered the judgment of earlier Division Bench) and also the judgment of the Division Bench in the case of Sunita Singh v. Board of Secondary Education Ajmer.

Therefore, I find no force in the writ petition and the same is dismissed.