Summary
The appointment of an Assistant Professor in Physical Education (Yoga Therapy) was restored because expert committees had accepted his Diploma in Yoga Education as meeting the advertised qualification. The High Court could not reject that academic assessment merely because the diploma bore a different name. Treating the qualification as equivalent did not change eligibility criteria midway through selection. Reinstatement and consequential service benefits were granted, excluding pay for the period out of service.
Issues
- Whether the High Court could reject expert acceptance of the candidate’s differently named diploma as satisfying the advertised qualification.
Held
- The High Court relied on the diploma’s nomenclature rather than the academic experts’ assessment. Although the Selection Committee had not expressly recorded equivalence, its composition and selection decision could not be displaced solely on that ground. (¶ 16)
- The advertised qualification remained unchanged. Accepting the candidate’s diploma as equivalent was distinct from changing eligibility criteria during selection. The subsequently constituted Equivalence Committee also found that the diploma satisfied the advertisement. (¶¶ 10, 17)
- The respondents’ reliance on course curriculum did not justify overturning the expert committees’ determination of eligibility in these circumstances. (¶ 18)
Result
Appeal allowed; High Court judgment set aside. Immediate reinstatement ordered with consequential benefits, seniority and pay fixation, but without pay for the period out of service. No costs.