Ekhlasur Rahman & Anr. vs The Union Of India & Ors.

The applicant had passed the Fauquania (equivalent to 10th Standard) Examination in the year 2010 conducted by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna, and possesses all other requisite qualifications and fulfills the terms and conditions prescribed for selection against the GDS posts in terms of the aforesaid notification.

Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna is a recognized educational Board under the State of Bihar and is also recognized by the Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE). Being eligible for consideration against the GDS posts, the applicant visited the official website/online portal of the Department of Posts for submitting his online candidature in respect of the notified GDS posts. However, while filling up the online application form, there was no option available for selecting the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna under the column relating to the Educational Board. The applicant thereafter personally approached the Recruitment Section of the Office of the Chief Postmaster General, Bihar Circle, Patna, and brought the aforesaid technical/administrative deficiency in the online application system to the notice of the concerned officials. However, no satisfactory explanation or solution was provided to the applicant, except being informed that the online system/website had been programmed from Delhi.

The applicant subsequently obtained a printout relating to another candidate, namely Ashish Kumar, who had passed the Matriculation Examination from the Bihar School Examination Board and whose online candidature had been accepted through the same online recruitment process.

It is relevant to state that a large number of persons possessing Fauquania qualification issued by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna, have been engaged/employed against GDS posts in different places throughout Bihar Circle, which demonstrates that such qualification has been accepted for the purpose of engagement to GDS posts. Despite possessing the requisite educational qualification and fulfilling the other eligibility conditions prescribed under the recruitment notification, the applicant has been denied even the opportunity to submit his candidature and compete for the notified GDS posts solely on account of the omission/non-availability of the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna, as an option in the online application portal.

The action/inaction of the Respondent-Department in not providing an option for candidates possessing certificates issued by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna, has resulted in the applicant being denied a fair opportunity to compete for public employment and is, therefore, arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of the applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

It is submitted by Learned Counsel for the respondents that the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Patna itself, vide letter No. 5370/E dated 21.06.2016, as well as the Government of India letter No. 42012/13/2007 dated 23.02.2010, has treated the Fauquania qualification as equivalent to the 10th Standard. However, the educational qualification prescribed by the Department of Posts for GDS engagement is not merely an equivalent qualification. In terms of Directorate letter No. 17-39/6/2012-GDS dated 14.01.2015, the prescribed qualification is specifically a Secondary School Examination pass certificate of 10th Standard issued by a recognized Board of School Education in India, which is mandatory for all approved categories of GDS.

Learned counsel for the respondents further submits that the Bihar Secondary School Examination Board, Patna, vide its letter No. B.S.E.B.(SS)97/80/15 dated 12.03.2015, as well as the Bihar Intermediate Education Council, vide memo No. BIEC/146/SC/2005 dated 25.07.2005, had clarified that candidates possessing Fauquania and Madhyama certificates issued by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board and Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board, respectively, are eligible for admission to higher education. Such recognition, however, does not mean that the Fauquania certificate itself constitutes a 10th Standard Secondary School Examination pass certificate for the purpose of GDS recruitment.

It is further submitted by Learned Counsel for the respondents that the Postal Directorate, vide letter No. 17-23/2016 dated 16.06.2017, specifically instructed that “No Equivalent Board should be configured for selection of GDS Online Engagement.” Since the Fauquania qualification relied upon by the applicant is an equivalent qualification and not a 10th Standard examination certificate issued as such by a recognized Board, the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board was, therefore, not configured on the GDS Online Engagement portal. Consequently, the non-availability of the said Board in the online application portal cannot be termed a technical deficiency or error on the part of the Department.

Learned counsel for the respondents submits that the applicant’s contention that the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board is recognized by the State of Bihar or by COBSE does not advance his case. Recognition of a Board by itself does not establish that every certificate issued by that Board satisfies the specific educational qualification prescribed for GDS engagement. The relevant requirement is a 10th Standard Secondary School Examination pass certificate from a recognized Board, and not an equivalent qualification.

With regard to the applicant’s allegation that he was unable to submit his online application because the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board was not available as an option, learned counsel for the respondents submits that there was no deficiency in the website or online recruitment system. The configuration of Boards in the online GDS recruitment portal was undertaken by the Bihar Circle in accordance with the rules, regulations and guidelines issued by the Postal Directorate, New Delhi, particularly Directorate letters dated 14.01.2015 and 16.06.2017. The Bihar Circle had no discretion to configure an equivalent Board contrary to the specific instructions of the Directorate.

Learned counsel for the respondents further submits that the example of candidate Ashish Kumar, relied upon by the applicant, is wholly distinguishable. The said candidate had obtained his 10th Standard passing certificate from the Bihar School Examination Board, Patna, which was an approved and configured Board for the purpose of GDS Online Engagement. Therefore, his online application was rightly accepted. The applicant, on the other hand, does not possess the prescribed 10th Standard pass certificate from an approved Board as required under the recruitment notification.

As regards the applicant’s contention that several persons possessing Fauquania qualification had earlier been engaged against GDS posts, learned counsel for the respondents submits that the position of law and the prescribed educational qualification had subsequently changed. Earlier, the educational qualification for GDS engagement was Matriculation or an equivalent qualification, and consequently candidates possessing Fauquania qualification from the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board were also considered and selected. However, from January 2015, the educational qualification for GDS engagement was specifically prescribed as 10th Standard, pursuant to Directorate letter No. 17-39/6/2012-GDS dated 14.01.2015. Therefore, earlier instances of engagement cannot confer any right upon the applicant in the recruitment process governed by the 2017 notification.

Learned counsel for the respondents also submits that the plea of the applicant that his grievance was not attended to by the Department is incorrect. Applicants who approached the Department or contacted the designated helpline at 0612-2226927 regarding their queries were duly attended to and their grievances/queries were resolved.

It is further submitted by Learned Counsel for the respondents that, pursuant to the interim order dated 18.10.2017 passed by this Tribunal in OA No. 638/2017, the application submitted by the applicant by hand on 20.10.2017 before the Office of the Chief Postmaster General, Bihar Circle, Patna, was accepted manually and kept separately. However, there was no provision or scope under the applicable rules and online recruitment procedure to enter or process the applicant’s candidature in the online system, since the Board from which the applicant had obtained the Fauquania certificate was not an approved/configured Board for GDS Online Engagement. Learned counsel submits that all candidates possessing the requisite educational qualification from the approved and recognized Boards, in accordance with the rules, regulations and guidelines issued by the Postal Directorate, were permitted to submit their applications online. Therefore, there is no justification for declaring the recruitment notification dated 18.09.2017 erroneous, illegal or bad in law.

It is lastly submitted by Learned Counsel for the respondents that the applicant does not possess the prescribed educational qualification of a 10th Standard pass certificate from an approved/recognized Board, as specifically stipulated in the GDS Online Engagement notification. Consequently, he cannot claim a right to have his candidature accepted or to be considered for engagement merely on the basis of an equivalent qualification.

The principal issue is whether the respondents could deny consideration of the applicants' candidature solely on the ground that Fauquania qualification issued by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board was not included in the online portal but whether the qualification possessed by him was, in law, a recognized qualification satisfying the educational requirement prescribed for GDS engagement.

It has been pointed out by the applicants that the Government of India, Central Administrative Tribunal^{Department of Personnel & Training, vide O.M. No. 42012/13/2007-}Estt.(D) dated 23.02.2010, dealing with the Subject: Recognition of Certificates/Qualifications issued by State Madarsa Education Boards for the purpose of employment under the Central Government recognized Fauquania qualification of the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board as equivalent to Class X/Matriculation for the purpose of employment under the Central Government. The respondents have not placed any material before us demonstrating that the said recognition was withdrawn, rescinded or modified before the recruitment in question. It is further mentioned that the certificates/qualifications of the Madrasa Board which have been granted equivalence by the corresponding State Board of Education to that of their Secondary and Senior Secondary qualifications may be considered equivalent by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) and/or by any other School Examination Board, for the purpose of employment.

In this O.M. the Government of India, in consultation with Ministry of HRD have decided to recognize the certificates/qualifications issued by the Bihar State Madarsa Education Board, for the purpose of employment under the Central Government that specifies Wastania as equivalent to class VII, Fauquania as equivalent to class X and Maulvi as equivalent to class XII.

The subsequent Postal Directorate instruction dated 16.06.2017 directed that no equivalent Board should be configured for selection through the GDS online engagement system. Such an administrative instruction concerning configuration of an online portal cannot, by itself, amount to withdrawal or nullification of an existing Government decision recognizing a qualification, unless the underlying recognition has itself been lawfully withdrawn or modified.

The distinction between recognition of a qualification and configuration of an online recruitment portal is material. The absence of a particular Board from a software-generated drop-down menu is an administrative/technical arrangement; it cannot, in the absence of a lawful withdrawal of the qualification's recognition, determine the substantive eligibility of a candidate. The respondents cannot deny consideration of an otherwise recognized qualification merely because the same was not made selectable in the online system. The subsequent Directorate letter dated 16.06.2017 undoubtedly required the Circles not to configure equivalent Boards for online GDS engagement. However, the said administrative instruction has to be construed harmoniously with the subsisting Government of India decision contained in the DoPT O.M. dated 23.02.2010. There is nothing on record to establish that the said O.M. had been withdrawn, rescinded or modified insofar as the recognition of Fauquania issued by the Bihar State Madarsa Education Board is concerned. Moreover, the educational qualification cannot be changed by a technical administrative direction to the software programmer not to put this degree in drop-down menu. There is no document produced by the respondents that this educational qualification for eligibility has been changed.

We are, however, equally clear that recognition of Fauquania as equivalent to Class X does not confer upon either applicant an indefeasible right to appointment or engagement as GDS. The applicants must independently satisfy all other conditions prescribed under the recruitment notification dated 18.09.2017, including age, merit, availability of vacancy, community/category requirements and other applicable eligibility conditions.

Consequently, to the limited extent that the applicants' candidature has been rejected solely on the premise that Fauquania qualification issued by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board cannot be treated as equivalent to Class X for Central Government employment, the impugned action cannot be sustained.

The impugned decision, to the aforesaid limited extent, is accordingly quashed. The respondents are directed to reconsider the candidature of the respective applicants by treating their Fauquania qualification as equivalent to Class X in terms of the DoPT O.M. dated 23.02.2010 and thereafter determine their eligibility strictly in accordance with the other conditions governing the GDS recruitment pursuant to notification dated 18.09.2017.

If, upon such reconsideration, either applicant is found otherwise eligible and entitled to consideration on the basis of merit and availability of vacancy, consequential action shall be taken in accordance with law. It is clarified that this order does not direct appointment/engagement of either applicant as GDS and possession of Fauquania qualification alone shall not create any right to such appointment or engagement. The aforesaid exercise shall be completed by the respondents by passing a reasoned and speaking order within eight weeks from the date of receipt/production of a certified copy of this order.

Both the Original Applications are accordingly allowed in the aforesaid limited terms.

There shall be no order as to costs.