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Parvaiz Ahmad Parry v. State of Jammu & Kashmir

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 13368 of 2015)Decided 6 Nov 2015
Civil Appeal No. 13368 of 2015
Justice J. Chelameswar · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

Parvaiz Ahmad Parry completed a B.Sc. with Forestry as one of his major subjects and later an M.Sc. (Forestry). He applied for the post of Range Officer Grade-I (Forest), which required "B.Sc. (Forestry) or equivalent" from a university recognised by the ICAR. The Public Service Commission declared him ineligible because he did not hold a B.Sc. in Forestry itself, and the High Court dismissed his writ petition and the appeal against it.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's judgment. It held that Parry met the advertised qualification, since he had both a B.Sc. with Forestry as a major subject and an M.Sc. in Forestry. If the advertisement was ambiguous, the Court said, the authority should have clarified it, and if it did not, the benefit should go to the candidate. The argument that accepting him would shut out other candidates was rejected as hypothetical, with no such candidate shown. The Court directed the State to issue his appointment order within one month, because an interim High Court order had reserved a post for him.

Lesson Learnt

When a job advertisement's eligibility wording is unclear, a candidate should not be disqualified on a narrow reading, and a higher degree in the required subject can satisfy a requirement for a basic degree in that subject. Recruiting bodies must clarify unclear eligibility criteria in the advertisement itself.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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