Summary
Candidates holding Master's degrees in Microbiology and Food Science and Technology were wrongly disqualified from selection as Food Safety Officers in Jharkhand on the ground that the advertisement and Rule 2.1.3 of the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011 required a graduate degree in those subjects. Under Section 37 read with Section 91(2)(b) of the FSS Act, 2006 only the Central Government may prescribe FSO qualifications; 'degree' as defined in Section 22(3) of the UGC Act includes Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees, and the specific mention of a Master's degree in Chemistry sets the minimum only for that subject. The appellants were held qualified and allowed to rejoin the 2016 recruitment from the interview stage.
Issues
- Whether the word 'degree' in Rule 2.1.3 of the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011 and in the recruitment advertisement is confined to a Bachelor's degree or also covers a Master's or Doctorate degree in the listed subjects.
- Whether the State Government has any power under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to prescribe or restrict the qualifications for the post of Food Safety Officer.
- What relief should be granted to the appellants, who were ousted at the interview stage of the 2016 recruitment, without disturbing candidates already selected.
Provisions considered
- Section 37, Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006Sub-section (1) requires the Commissioner of Food Safety to appoint as FSOs persons having the qualifications prescribed by the Central Government; sub-section (2) gives the State Government only the limited power to authorise a State officer holding those qualifications to perform FSO functions. The prescription of qualifications is thus in the exclusive domain of the Central Government. (¶¶ 22, 23, 24, 25)
- Section 91(2)(b), Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006The Central Government's rule-making power expressly covers the qualifications of FSOs under Section 37(1), fortifying the conclusion that the educational criteria lie exclusively with the Central Government. (¶¶ 22, 26)
- Section 94, Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006The State Government's rule-making power is restricted to carrying out the functions and duties assigned to the State and the State Commissioner; it does not permit the State to prescribe qualifications for FSOs. (¶¶ 22, 26)
- Rule 2.1.3, Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011The rule, adopted mutatis mutandis by Jharkhand, requires 'a degree' in Food Technology, Dairy Technology, Biotechnology, Oil Technology, Agricultural Science, Veterinary Sciences, Biochemistry or Microbiology, or a Master's degree in Chemistry, or a degree in medicine. Read literally, the specific reference to a Master's degree applies only to Chemistry; for the other subjects any degree (graduation, post-graduation or doctorate) qualifies. The 2022 amendment expressly stating Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate degrees was noted as removing the confusion. (¶¶ 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33)
- Section 22(3), University Grants Commission Act, 1956'Degree' means Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees; wherever the word is used without a specific exclusion it covers all three. (¶ 29)
- Articles 246(2) and 254; Entry 18, List III, Seventh Schedule, Constitution of IndiaRelied on by the appellants to argue that food adulteration is a concurrent subject and that in case of inconsistency the Parliamentary law and the Central rules on FSO qualifications prevail over any State stipulation; the Court decided the matter on the exclusive Central power under the FSS Act. (¶¶ 8, 9, 10, 25, 26)
Held
- Under Section 37(1) read with Section 91(2)(b) of the FSS Act, the power to prescribe qualifications for the post of Food Safety Officer lies exclusively with the Central Government, while the power to appoint lies with the Commissioner of Food Safety; the State Government's rule-making power under Section 94 is limited to the modalities for carrying out assigned functions and does not extend to prescribing or narrowing FSO qualifications. (¶¶ 23, 24, 25, 26)
- The word 'degree', as defined in Section 22(3) of the UGC Act, includes Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees, and unless a specific exclusion is made it carries that full meaning in any statute or notification prescribing a 'degree' as a qualification. (¶ 29)
- Rule 2.1.3 of the FSS Rules, 2011 and the advertisement contain no ambiguity excluding Master's degrees: the express requirement of a Master's degree applies only to candidates from the Chemistry stream, for whom it is the minimum; for the other listed subjects a candidate holding a graduation, post-graduation or doctorate degree is equally qualified. Excluding holders of higher degrees in those subjects would be unjust, arbitrary and unconstitutional, and Parvaiz Ahmad Parry covers the controversy on all fours. (¶¶ 31, 32, 34)
- Appellants who disclosed their post-graduate qualifications, were accepted into the process and called for interview, and were then disqualified were entitled to resume the 2016 recruitment from the interview stage; supernumerary posts are to be created if vacancies no longer exist, and successful appellants are to be appointed with effect from the first select list but placed below the last selected candidate, since the selected candidates were never heard, with notional service benefits and no back wages. No relief could be given in the 2023 recruitment, under which they had not applied. (¶¶ 21, 35)
Result
Appeal allowed; judgments of the Single Judge and Division Bench of the Jharkhand High Court set aside; appellants to be allowed to participate in the 2016 FSO recruitment from the interview stage, with supernumerary posts if needed, appointment effective from the first select list but seniority below the last selected candidate, notional service benefits and no back wages; no relief regarding the 2023 advertisement.