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Jharkhand High Court has given a big relief to the candidates appearing in the Lab Assistant Competitive Examination (Advertisement No. 01/2023). The court of Justice Deepak Roshan has completely canceled (rejected) the disputed condition of this recruitment advertisement, in which it was mandatory for the candidates to study the relevant subjects for two or three years at the graduation level.
The court has made it clear in its historic decision that no advertisement or its terms can be above the basic statutory rules made by the government.
Statutory rules are supreme, not advertising conditions: High Court
During the hearing, the court made it clear that this entire recruitment process is governed under the ‘Jharkhand Government Schools Teacher and Non-Teaching Staff Appointment and Service Conditions Rules, 2012’ (Revised 2022-23).
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There was no compulsion in the rules: The court found that nowhere in these fundamental statutory rules of the government there is any compulsion or mention of studying the relevant subjects for two or three years at the graduation level. This condition was added later by the Commission.
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Citing the Supreme Court decision: Justice Deepak Roshan, citing the famous legal case of ‘Dr. (Major) Mita Sahay vs. State of Bihar’, said that if the terms of an advertisement are contrary or different from the statutory rules, then only the government rules will be considered effective and valid.
What was the whole controversy? (Case Background)
Advertisement was issued by Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) for a total of 690 posts of Lab Assistant.
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Additional condition catch: JSSC added the condition in the advertisement that the candidates should have studied the subjects of Physics, Chemistry or Biology as Honors or Subsidiary for at least two or three years in graduation.
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Successful candidates disqualified: During the selection process and document verification, when many eligible candidates were declared ‘ineligible’ (rejected) on the basis of not fulfilling this 2-3 year condition, then the candidates approached the High Court for justice.
Discrimination among degree holders on the basis of marks is ‘arbitrary’: Court
During the same hearing, the High Court declared another old rule of the Education Department as completely arbitrary and invalid. The court said that there cannot be any discrimination between holders of similar degrees obtained from the same recognized institute on the basis of mere variation in marks.
Sangeet Prabhakar degree case: The department had considered the candidates who had taken ‘Sangeet Prabhakar’ degree of 300 marks before the year 2007 as ineligible for reinstatement, which the court has held to be completely wrong and against natural justice.
