HC slaps Rs 2 lakh costs on Haryana for misreading ‘preferable’ qualification as mandatory
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed Rs 2 lakh compensation on Haryana for subjecting a retired Indian Air Force officer to “unnecessary litigation” and depriving him of consideration for the Chief Fire Officer’s post “for reasons that were unsustainable”.
The directions by Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj came on a petition filed by Ilam Singh Chauhan, who superannuated from the IAF on August 31, 1989. The Bench was told that he possessed a BA (Hons) and LL.B. degree. But he was denied promotion as Chief Fire Officer under an order dated April 20, 2016, as he did not possess a Bachelor’s degree in Science.
Taking exception to the erroneous interpretation of eligibility norms, Justice Bhardwaj held: “The attempt by the respondent-authorities to elevate a preferential qualification to the pedestal of an indispensable criterion amounts to a clear misappreciation and misconstruction of the eligibility.”
Calling the denial “legally untenable and unsustainable”, Justice Bhardwaj asserted a plain reading of a communication on essential qualifications issued on August 11, 2004, by the Ministry of Home Affairs indicated that Science degree was mentioned as preferable or desirable and not essential or mandatory.
“It is trite law that where a qualification is prescribed as desirable or preferable, the same cannot, by any interpretative exercise, be construed as mandatory and to exclude otherwise eligible candidates,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted.
Castigating the authorities for misapplying the criteria, Justice Bhardwaj asserted: “The rejection of the petitioner’s candidature, on the sole premise that he did not hold a bachelor’s degree in Science—when the said requirement was, in fact, only of a preferential nature—amounts to a misconstruction of the governing criteria.”
The court, at the same time, did not issue a direction to promote the petitioner. Justice Bhardwaj asserted neither the Haryana Fire Office Subordinate Service (State Service Class-II) Rules, nor the Haryana Group A and Group B Service Rules, 2016, recognised Chief Fire Officer’s post or laid down eligibility norms for it.
“Since the Service Rules governing the service conditions did not provide for such post, it could not be said to be a part of promotional avenue provided to an employee under the law,” Justice Bhardwaj held, asserting that the court would not “assume or create accrual of rights to be promoted to a post which is not the promotional post for the petitioner because he is held eligible.”
Before parting, Justice Bhardwaj asserted: “The interest of justice can be well served by suitably compensating the petitioner for the mental agony and harassment that he had to suffer on account of rejection of his eligibility for wrong reasons. The respondent-authorities are directed to pay a compensation of Rs 2 Lakh to the petitioner for unnecessary litigation and for depriving him of his consideration at the relevant time for reasons that were unsustainable.”
Haryana Tribune