Jasvir Singh vs State of Punjab and Others

Ajai Lamba, J.—This petition has been filed under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to consider the petitioner for appointment to the post of Sub Divisional Engineer (Civil) Irrigation Department.

In brief, it has been contended that the petitioner has taken degree in AMIE and, therefore, is eligible to be considered for appointment to the post of Sub Divisional Engineer (Civil).

The issue that arises for consideration, under the circumstances, is whether a person such as the petitioner who has passed AMIE degree, would be eligible for consideration for appointment by direct recruitment as SDE (Civil).

The essential qualification provided for appointment to the post of SDE (Civil) by direct recruitment is that a candidate should possess a degree in Engineering in Civil or Mechanical from a recognized university or institution.

The issue has been considered by this Court while dealing with CWP No. 18830 of 2009 entitled Jagtar Singh v. State of Punjab and Ors.. Following is the relevant portion:

Perusal of above reproduced Appendix B, Column No. 5 shows that it deals with the case of promotion. The petitioner, however, claims himself to be eligible for direct recruitment. The case of the petitioner, under the circumstances, would fall under Column No. 6. Under Column No. 6, however, AMIE has not been provided as required qualification.

So far as direct appointment is concerned, the qualification provided for appointment of Sub Divisional Engineer, is in the following terms:

Should possess a degree in Engineering in Civil or Mechanical from a recognized University or Institution

Admittedly, the petitioner does not possess a degree in Engineering in Civil or in Mechanical from a recognised University or Institution. The Rules do not provide for any equivalent course to be accepted in lieu of the degree in Engineering.

In view of the above, I am of the considered opinion that no fault can be found with the action of the respondents in holding the petitioner as ineligible for consideration for the post of Sub Divisional Engineer by way of direct appointment.

The petition is dismissed.

It seems that Letters Patent Appeal No. 1378 of 2009 was filed against the judgment rendered by this Bench. The same, however, has been dismissed vide judgment dated 25.03.2010.

In view of the above, this petition is dismissed.