Sajid Khan v. L Rahmathullah & Ors.
Background
The Union Territory of Lakshadweep advertised posts of Junior Engineer (Electrical), requiring a Degree or Diploma in Electrical Engineering. The appellants, who held a Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (a related but differently named qualification), were selected, but candidates who missed the select list challenged their selection before the Central Administrative Tribunal, arguing their diploma did not match the advertised qualification. The Tribunal and later the High Court agreed and set aside the appellants' appointments, prompting this appeal to the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court noted that the Lakshadweep administration had, years before issuing the advertisement, formally obtained clarification from Kerala's Department of Technical Education that a Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering is equivalent to a Diploma in Electrical Engineering. Since the recruiting authority itself had scrutinized and accepted this equivalence, and courts should generally defer to an employer's assessment of qualification equivalence absent clear evidence of arbitrariness, the Tribunal and High Court erred in second-guessing that judgment on a mere difference in nomenclature. The Court allowed the appeal and restored the appellants' selection and appointments.
Lesson Learnt
Courts exercising judicial review will not readily override an employer's own considered, documented decision that two qualifications are equivalent for a job, especially where the employer sought and relied on expert clarification before advertising the post; equivalence disputes are primarily for the appointing authority, not the courts, to resolve.