Jomon K.K. v. Shajimon P.
Background
The Kerala Public Service Commission advertised 12 posts of "Boat Lascar," requiring candidates to hold a current Lascar's Licence, a lower-tier qualification obtainable after class 8 pass, as distinct from the higher-tier Syrang's Licence requiring class 10 pass. A departmental letter suggested that holders of the superior Syrang/Master/Driver certificate should also be treated as eligible for the Lascar post since that certificate was "superior." The appellant, who held only the higher Syrang-type qualification and not a Lascar's Licence, was appointed as a Lascar based on this letter, but this appointment was later challenged and set aside by the Kerala High Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that the statutory Special Rules of 1975 required candidates for the Lascar post to specifically possess a Lascar's Licence, and an administrative letter could not override or dilute this express eligibility requirement, however logically "superior" a different qualification might seem. Since the appellant's entry was secured through an appointment process that did not comply with the mandatory eligibility criteria, it was void in law. The Court declined to exercise its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to save the appointment on equitable grounds, holding that sympathy cannot override a fundamentally illegal appointment.
Lesson Learnt
Eligibility criteria fixed by statutory recruitment rules cannot be diluted or substituted by administrative letters or notions of "equivalent" qualifications: an appointment made in violation of the prescribed rules is void from the outset, regardless of how long the person may have served or how sympathetic their circumstances.