Summary
The Supreme Court upheld exclusion of diploma holders who lacked the advertised Matric-with-ITI qualification for Technician-III posts. Without an enabling rule, a higher qualification did not necessarily presuppose the prescribed one. Correcting inconsistent scrutiny did not change the selection rules. The appellants nevertheless received four years’ age relaxation for other State posts advertised up to 30 November 2020.
Issues
- Whether an engineering diploma substituted for the prescribed ITI qualification.
- Whether enforcing the advertised qualification after testing altered the selection norms.
- Whether discretionary higher-qualification weightage or hardship justified relief.
Provisions considered
- Section 6(iii), Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment Act, 2010District-cadre eligibility required the prescribed qualification, eligibility and experience under the governing recruitment rules or orders. (¶¶ 15, 17)
- Rules 13(1), 13(3) and 14(1), Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment Rules, 2010The selection framework required prescribed qualifications and allowed, rather than compelled, additional-qualification weightage. (¶¶ 16, 17, 25)
Held
- The Board adhered to the original qualification rather than changing the rules midstream. Provisionally interviewing diploma holders in some districts was an anomaly it could correct. (¶¶ 17, 18)
- A higher qualification did not automatically substitute for the prescribed qualification absent an applicable rule. Jyoti K.K. depended on a specific statutory provision not present here; equivalence and recruitment qualifications were matters for the competent employer. (¶¶ 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
- Note 12 treated the prescribed qualification as an essential threshold. Its provision for higher-qualification weightage was enabling and discretionary, not a vested entitlement that the Board had to exercise. (¶ 25)
- In view of the litigation history and initial participation, the appellants were granted four years’ age relaxation for other Jammu and Kashmir State posts advertised up to 30 November 2020. The merits ruling otherwise remained undisturbed. (¶ 26)
- The connected appeal was disposed of on the same terms. (¶¶ 27, 28)
Result
Appeals disposed of without costs; exclusion upheld, subject to four years’ age relaxation for other State posts advertised up to 30 November 2020. Connected appeal governed by the same terms.