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Ritu Bhatia v. Ministry of Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution and Others

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 138Decided 5 Feb 2019
Civil Appeal No. 1467 of 2019
Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited advertised a post of Company Secretary requiring five years' post-qualification experience "as" Company Secretary. The appellant applied, claiming seven years and three months of relevant experience, was appointed, but was later issued a show-cause notice and then terminated when it emerged that much of her claimed experience was actually as a "Management Trainee" or "Assistant Company Secretary," not as a Company Secretary proper. Her challenge to the termination was rejected by a Single Judge and then by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, leading to this appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the word "as" in "experience as Company Secretary" had to be read literally and strictly, meaning the candidate must actually have been appointed to, and functioned in, the position of Company Secretary, not merely performed some similar duties while holding a different designation. It distinguished an earlier precedent (Dr. Asim Kumar Bose) on facts, since that case involved a person who had actually held an ex-officio version of the very post in question, unlike the appellant, who had never been formally appointed as a Company Secretary during the disputed years. Finding that the appellant's genuine experience "as" Company Secretary fell short of the required five years, the Court upheld the termination and dismissed the appeal.

Lesson Learnt

When a job advertisement specifies experience "as" a particular designated post, courts will interpret that literally: merely performing similar duties under a different job title (such as "Management Trainee") will not count toward meeting that eligibility requirement, so candidates should ensure their stated qualifications precisely match the advertised criteria before applying.

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

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