The Bombay High Court has held that prescribing a Diploma as an essential qualification for recruitment to the post of Junior Engineer is not illegal merely because candidates possessing only an Engineering Degree are excluded. The Court held that the employer is well-equipped to determine the desirable qualification for a particular post and that the Court cannot lay down conditions of eligibility or treat a higher qualification as equivalent to the prescribed qualification.

A division bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale was hearing a petition filed seeking permission to participate in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's recruitment for Junior Engineer (Civil) and Junior Engineer (Mechanical and Electrical). The petitioners contended that the 2023 Recruitment Rules prescribed only the minimum qualification and therefore Engineering Degree holders could not be excluded from consideration.

The petitioners also relied on the BMC's earlier recruitment processes, contending that those allowed both degree and diploma holders. They argued that excluding candidates possessing only an Engineering Degree, while permitting those possessing both Diploma and Degree qualifications, violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

The BMC submitted that a Diploma course and a Degree do not lie in the same channel; a diploma course is designed to impart the practical aspect of engineering and to train persons for the execution of works, whereas a degree course provides theoretical training with less emphasis on the practical, so the two cater to different situations.

The Court rejected reliance on the Model Recruitment Rules and the Government Resolution dated September 9, 2021. It noted that the 2023 Recruitment Rules had superseded the earlier Rules and applied to the recruitment process.

Relying on the Supreme Court's decision in Md. Firoz Mansuri & Ors. v. State of Bihar, the Court held that it is for the employer to determine the relevancy and suitability of qualifications, while judicial review in recruitment matters is limited to legislative competence, arbitrariness or violation of fundamental rights. Citing Bihar State Power (Holding) Co. Ltd. v. Md. Asif Hussain, the Court had reiterated:

“… the decision to offer the post of Junior Electrical Engineer to only diploma-holders does not amount to such prohibition against Degree-holders that may allow us to invoke Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India in favour of the Degree-holders who still have other job opportunities.”

The Court held that no illegality could be attributed to a recruitment process merely because degree-holder candidates were excluded where the specified qualification was a Diploma.

“This Court, in Vivek (supra), recorded its clear opinion that no illegality can be attributed to a recruitment process merely by excluding degree-holder candidates where the specified minimum qualification was declared to be a Diploma certification,” the Court remarked.

The Court further observed that the State, as an employer, is well-equipped to determine the desirable qualification for a particular post and that the Court cannot go into whether another qualification is at par with the prescribed minimum and essential qualification.

The petition was accordingly rejected, with the Court holding that there was no illegality or infirmity in the selection process.

Case Title: Vinayak Popat Wale v. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation [Writ Petition No.18052 of 2024]

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