A Single Judge Bench of Justice Girijish Kumar upheld the rejection of a candidate whose computer certificate had been obtained from an institute in Nepal.

The petitioner had applied for a licence for a vacant PDS shop and submitted a Basic Computer Degree Certificate along with his application. The certificate was issued by Golden Computer & Educational Centre at Triveni-6, Raninagar, Nawalparasi, Lumbini, Nepal. According to the petitioner, he fulfilled the eligibility criteria and stood above the selected candidate in the merit list. He contended that his candidature had been rejected solely because his computer certificate was obtained from Nepal.

The selected candidate, Sikandar Ansari, opposed the plea. He submitted that while the petitioner's certificate was issued by an institution in Nepal, his own computer certificate had been issued by an authorised institution in India.

The Court noted that the Sub-Divisional Officer, Bagaha, had issued an order on January 30, 2018 which required the educational qualification of a candidate to be recognised by the Government. It further noted that the petitioner was aware of this order and had previously approached the High Court over his position in the merit list and the objection concerning his computer certificate. However, he had never challenged the 2018 order itself.

The Court described the 2018 order as the “foundational stone” of the Divisional Commissioner's subsequent decision rejecting the petitioner's revision. Referring to Article 12 of the Constitution, the High Court observed:

“The plain reading of Article 12 demonstrates that the term 'Government' includes the States and all local or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India…In the present case, it is specifically clarified at paragraph-13 of the order…that the educational certificates shall be recognized by the Government, which means Government of India or any local or other authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India.”

The Court therefore held that the Divisional Commissioner had correctly interpreted the requirement while rejecting the petitioner's revision, since his computer certificate had been obtained from Nepal and was not from a government-recognised institution in India.

Finding no infirmity or impropriety in the Commissioner's order, the High Court dismissed the writ petition.

Case Title: Samim Mansuri v. State of Bihar and Ors.

Case Number: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 442 of 2025

Appearance: Mr. Bimlesh Kumar Pandey for the Petitioner; Mr. Braj Bhushan Mishra, AC to AG, for the Respondents; Mr. Ajay Kumar Thakur and Mr. Shivam for Respondent No. 7.