IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.1031 of 2018

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Suman Kumar, Son of Bhushan Prasad, resident of Village- Daldalichak, P.S.
Harnaut, District- Nalanda.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus
1. The State of Bihar and Ors
2. The Chairman, Bihar Staff Selection Commission, Bihar, Patna.
3. The Agriculture Director, Department of Agriculture, Bihar, Patna.
4. The Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Bihar, Patna.

... ... Respondent/s

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Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Nitya Nand Mishra
For the State : Mr. Dhurjati Kumar Prasad-Gp14
For the B.S.S.C. : Mr. Gyan Shankar
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRABHAT KUMAR SINGH
ORAL ORDER

5 03-01-2023 This application has been filed for quashing the order

dated 15.09.2017 as contained in Annexure-11 to this writ

petition passed by Bihar Staff Selection Commission whereby

candidature of the petitioner for the post of Agriculture

Coordinator was rejected.

It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that

petitioner was duly qualified and possessed the equivalent

certificate of B. Tech (Dairy & Food Technology) from

Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University,

Banaskantha, Gujarat. He further submits that the degree of

B. Tech (Dairy & Food Technology) is equivalent to the degree

of B.Tech (Dairy Technology) as required by the advertisement

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No. 02010115 dated 04.05.2015 as contained in Annexure-R1 of

counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent No. 2. He next

submits that only nomenclature has been changed as B. Tech

(Dairy & Food Technology) but from comparative cross

verification of course curriculum of B.Tech (Dairy Technology)

and B. Tech (Dairy & Food Technology) it is evident that all the

courses of the B.Tech (Dairy Technology) are imparted in

B. Tech (Dairy & Food Technology) and therefore, on the basis

of the comparative cross verification both qualifications are

similar and are at par with each other. It is next submitted that

in this regard Registrar of Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada

Agricultural University, Gujarat has issued a certificate in which

it clearly stipulates that B. Tech (Dairy & Food Technology) is

equivalent to B.Tech (Dairy Technology) vide Annexure-10. In

addition to this, petitioner has also placed reliance upon the

decision of Hon’ble Supreme Court in Zonal Manager, Bank of

India & Ors. vs. Aarya K. Babu & Anr. reported in 2019(3)

PLJR (SC) 457.

On the other hand, learned counsel for the

Commission submits that petitioner does not have a requisite

qualification for the aforesaid appointment. He further submits

that in the light of Agriculture Coordinator Cadre, 2014 the

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Department had sent requisition to the Commission for making

recruitment and selection for the post of Agriculture

Coordinator. Accordingly, the Commission issued an

advertisement on 04.05.2015 and thereafter, combined list was

published by the Commission on 05.08.2016 which was

followed by the Department concerned. However, before the

appointment letters were issued a writ petition bearing C.W.J.C.

No. 13658 of 2016 and other petitions came to be filed before

this Hon’ble Court. After hearing the parties Hon’ble Court

disposed of the back cases under judgment dated 30.05.2017

with a direction to the Commission or the authority concerned

so constituted after inviting objections, if any, by reasoned and

speaking order. Pursuant to the direction issued by this Court the

Commission carried out such exercise. While considering the

case of the petitioner it transpired to the Commission that

petitioner did not file any objection and on the basis of record it

was found that the degree possessed by the petitioner is not in

consonance with clause 3(ka) of the advertisement and

therefore, the Commission had rejected the candidature of the

petitioner.

It is settled law that grant of equivalence and/or

revocation of equivalence is an administrative decision which is

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in the sole discretion of the authority concerned and the Court

has nothing to do with such matters. The matter of equivalence

is decided by experts appointed by the Government and the

Court does not have expertise in such matters. Hence, it should

exercise judicial restrain and not interfere in it. Similar opinion

has been expressed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in paragraph 16

of the decision relied by the learned counsel for the petitioner

which reads as follows: “It is not for the Court to provide

equivalence relating to education qualifications inasmuch as the

said issue has been settled by the Constitution Bench of this

Court.”

In this case apart from placing reliance upon the

aforesaid case petitioner has fortified his argument on the basis

of a certificate issued by the Registrar of Sardarkrushinagar

Dantiwada Agricultural University, Gujarat and that alone

cannot be a ground to declare the degree of the petitioner to be

equivalent to the degree required for the aforesaid appointment.

So far as reliance upon paragraph 18 of the aforesaid

judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court is concerned the same has

been given under Article 142 of the Constitution under Article

141 of the Constitution of India and as such has no binding

precedence.
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precedence.

Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances

of the case and the settled law discussed above, this Court does

not find any substances in the writ petition and it is dismissed

accordingly.

(Prabhat Kumar Singh, J)

Navya/-