Amarsinh Laljibhai Parmar vs State Of Gujarat
2022 Latest Caselaw 1428 Guj

    C/SCA/15334/2019                             CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 08/02/2022




               IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

         R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15334 of 2019
                              With
          R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8556 of 2020
                              With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FIXING DATE OF EARLY HEARING) NO. 1 of 2021
         In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8556 of 2020
                              With
          R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15532 of 2019
                              With
          R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16982 of 2019

FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV
==========================================================

1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?

2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ?

3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of the judgment ?

4 Whether this case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of India or any order made thereunder ?

========================================================== AMARSINH LALJIBHAI PARMAR Versus STATE OF GUJARAT ========================================================== Appearance:

MR RAMESHBHAI M PATEL(10094) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,2,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,3,30,31,32, 33,34,35,4,5,6,7,8,9 MR TR MISHRA(483) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,2,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,3,30,31,32, 33,34,35,4,5,6,7,8,9 MS SURBHI BHATI, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2 ========================================================== CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV Date : 08/02/2022

1. Rule, returnable forthwith. Ms. Surbhi Bhati, learned

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Assistant Government Pleader waives service of

notice of Rule for the respondents.

2. Heard Mr. T. R. Mishra, learned counsel for the

petitioners and Ms. Surbhi Bhati, learned Assistant

Government Pleader for the respondent - State

through Video Conferencing. Perused the record.

3. With the consent of the learned advocates appearing

for the respective parties, all these petitions were

taken up for its final disposal.

4. In all these petitions, under Article 226 of the

Constitution of India, the petitioners have challenged

the action of the respondents in deleting their name

from the merit list for the post of Live Stock

Inspectors under the State on the ground that the

petitioners are disqualified because they do not fulfill

the educational qualifications as per the Recruitment

Rules.

5. With the consent of learned advocates, Mr. T. R.

C/SCA/15334/2019 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 08/02/2022

Mishra has argued on behalf of all the learned

advocates appearing for the respective parties and

for the purposes of arriving at a decision of this

Court, facts of Special Civil Application No.15334 of

2019 have been considered.

6. The facts in brief are as under:

6.1. An advertisement was published on 26.7.2017

for the post of Live Stock Inspectors in a Daily

Newspaper 'Sandesh'. Applications were invited

online.

6.2. The recruitment Rules framed under Article

309 of the Constitution of India provided that in

order to be eligible for being appointed as Live Stock

Inspector, Class III; a candidate should not be more

than 33 years of age, should have passed the

Secondary School Certificate Examination with

English as one of the Subjects, have passed three

years Diploma in Veterinary Science and Diploma in

Animal Husbandry from any of the Universities

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established or incorporated by or under State or

Central or State Agricultural or Veterinary

University Act or should possess a Certificate of Live

Stock Inspector Course of at-least one year duration

obtained from any of the Universities established or

incorporated from any of the Central or the State

Act in India or any other educational institution

recognized as such or declared to be a deemed

university under Section 3 of the UGC Act. It is

undisputed that the petitioner who appeared for the

Selection for the post of Live Stock Inspector

possess the basic SSC qualification, however, they

possess a Certificate of having passed a one year

course in Live Stock Inspector from Vinayaka

Missions University, Salem, a university declared as

a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act,

university's providing distance mode of education.

The case of the petitioners is that having obtained a

degree from a distance mode, their qualifications

were treated as not in accordance with the

Recruitment Rules and their names therefore have

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been deleted from the selection list. This is a

subject-matter of challenge in these petitions.

7. Mr. T. R. Mishra, learned counsel appearing for the

petitioners would draw the attention of the Court to

the qualifications as specified in the Recruitment

Rules which are thereafter subsequently amended.

Both notifications dated 11.4.2016 and 9.2.2017 are

placed on record. Certificates of the petitioners of

having procured their certificate of one year Live

Stock Inspector Course is also on record. Mr. Mishra

would submit that it is evident from the

communication dated 17.7.2006 from the UGC that

the Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation has been

brought under the ambit of deemed University status

and the college from the which the petitioner has

passed and obtained a certificate is therefore a

deemed university empowered towards its own

degrees and Diplomas as being deemed university

under the Act.

7.1. Mr. Mishra, learned counsel appearing for the

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petitioners would submit that even the Indira Gandhi

National Open University has recognized the faculty

of distance education of Vinayaka Missions

University which is evident from the letter dated

28.2.2007. Reliance is also placed on a

communication dated 16.5.2011 of the UGC which

states that a degree or a diploma awarded in regular

mode or distance mode are equivalent and at par.

Decisions of this Court in the case of SCA No.9064

of 2009 and allied matters dated 9.10.2009 and SCA

No.11153 of 2009 and allied matters dated

30.10.2009 have been relied upon.

7.2. Mr. Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioners

would submit that the Government itself had taken a

decision to recognize the candidates of the Vinayaka

Missions University through the distance mode of

study which is evident from the communication

dated 9.6.2019 and the communication dated

12.2.2015 issued by the Director of Animal

Husbandry. On all these counts, Mr. Mishra would

submit that the decision of the respondents to de-list

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the names of the petitioners from the merit list on

the ground that the qualification that they possess

i.e. one year certificate from Vinayaka Missions

University is misconceived.

8. Ms. Surbhi Bhati, learned Assistant Government

Pleader for the respondent - State would draw the

attention of the Court to the affidavit-in-reply filed by

one Dr. Pankajkumar Jayantilal Derashri. She would

submit that the recruitment process was to be

required to be undertaken in consonance with the

Rules, the job profile for the post in question. A job

profile of a Live Stock Inspector involves several

requirements namely; application and administration

of drugs rendering preliminary aid through oral

administration, handing of superficial ailments of

animals, vaccination, dispatch of serum, urine, blood

samples etc. and, therefore, the petitioners having

undertaken their Course from a distant learning mode

through the Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation

cannot be recognized because a technical and a

professional program through a mode of distant

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learning cannot be so recognized. Ms. Bhati would

rely on a communication dated 23.2.2018 issued by

the UGC Distance Education Bureau, wherein, it is

clearly stated that in programs like Engineering,

Medicine, Dental, Pharmacy and Nursing, which

require hands-on-training, cannot be permitted to be

offered through distance learning mode.

8.1. Ms. Bhati, learned Assistant Government

Pleader for the respondent - State would further

submit that under the Medium Veterinary Council

Act, Live Stock Inspectors provide minor veterinary

services and, therefore, learning through distance

mode cannot be a ground on which the petitioners

can be appointed because certain high level of

sensitive dealing is involved with the body of animals

and learning through distance mode is not a

satisfactory mode through which the petitioner can

be claimed to have acquired their qualification.

8.2. Reliance is placed on an affidavit-in-reply and

to a judgment rendered in Civil Appeal No.17869-

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17870 2017 dated 3.11.2017 in the case of Orissa

Lift Irrigation Corporation Limited v. Rabi

Shankar Patro and Others. Paragraph No.38 is

relied upon to submit that technical education

leading to the award of degrees in Engineering

consists of imparting of lessons in theory as well as

practicals. Face to face imparting of education and

knowledge constitutes and integral part of technical

education which cannot be undertaken through

distance education.

9. Having considered the submissions made by learned

advocates for the respective parties, it will be in the

fitness of things to reproduce the relevant

Recruitment Rules for the post of Live Stock

Inspectors. Initially, the Rule 3 of the Rules as framed

by the notification dated 11.4.2016 read as under:

Rule 3:

To be eligible for appointment by direct selection to the post mentioned in Rule - 2, a candidate shall.

(a) not be more than 33 years of age.

Provided that the upper age limit may be relaxed in favour of a candidate who is already in the

C/SCA/15334/2019 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 08/02/2022

service of the Government of Gujarat in accordance with the provisions of the Gujarat Civil Services Classification and Recruitment (General) Rules, 1967;

(b) (i) have passed the Secondary School Certificate Examination (10th pass) with English as one of the subjects from Secondary School Certificate Examination Board State of Central Government; and

(ii) have passed three years diploma in veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry or Diploma in Animal Husbandry from any of the Universities established or incorporated by or under the Central or a State Agricultural or Veterinary University Act and recognized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR);

(C) possess the basic knowledge of computer application as prescribed in the Gujarat Civil Services Classification and Recruitment (General) Rules, 1967

&

(D) Possess adequate knowledge of Gujarat or Hindi or Both.

10. Subsequently, by notification dated 9.2.2017, the rule

in question which is a subject-matter of controversy

was added.

"2 In the Livestock inspector, Class III, in the subordinate services of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Recruitment Rules, 2016 in Rule 3, in clause (b), in sub clause (ii) after the word "Council of Agriculture Research (ICRA)" shall be added, namely;

"or a certificate of livestock inspector course of at

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least one year duration obtained from any of the Universities established or incorporated from any of the Central or State Act in India or any other educational institution recognized as such or declared to be deemed as a university under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956."

11. The question is whether a certificate of distant

learning acquired by the petitioners from the

Vinayaka Missions University can be treated as

recognized. Perusal of the certificates of marks

annexed to the petitions would indicate that the

nature of course that the petitioners have undergone

indicate that they have undergone the course in the

field of extension, education and field work. They

have also undertaken education namely; health

education and cattle feed and crop production, live

stock production, buffalo and paltry management,

veterinary anatomy and physiology simple principles,

primary treatment of animal diseases and artificial

insemination.

12. Reading of the communication dated 17.7.2016

(relevant portion reproduced hereunder) to one Shri

R.M. Patel, the President of Lord Shri Kirshna Trust

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would indicate that the Vinayaka Missions Research

Foundation deemed university Salem has been

declared as a deemed university by the Government

of India under Section 3 of the UGC Act.

"Being a deemed university Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed University), Salem is empowered to award its own degrees and diplomas. So far as Degrees courses are concerned, a University or Deemed University can awards degrees as specified by the UGC under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956 regarding diplomas programs, there is no provision under UGC Act to specify diploma courses and as such each courses are out of the purview of UGC."

The relevant statutory authority for Engg & Technical Courses is All India Council for technical Education (AICTE). The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Bhatidasa University v. AICTE has ruled that AICTE is not empowered under its Act to inspect and approved the Courses conducted by University or Deemed University. Subsequently, the Government of India vide its notification No.F.2-1/2006 U.3(A) dated 5.4.2006 has also clarified that it is not a pre-requisite for an institution notified as a `Deemed to be University' to obtain the approval of the AICTE, to start any programme in technical or management education leading to an award, including degrees in disciplines covered under the AICTE Act, 1987. However, institution notified as `Deemed to be University' are required to ensure the maintenance of the minimum standards prescribed by the AICTE for various courses that come under the jurisdiction of the said council."

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13. The communication specifically submits that being a

deemed university Vinayaka Missions Research

Foundation, Salem is empowered to award its own

degrees and diplomas. So far as degrees are

concerned, a university or a deemed university can

award degrees as specified by the UGC under Section

22 of the UGC Act, 1956.

14. From reading this communication, it becomes evident

that Vinayaka Missions University is a recognized

deemed university under the provisions of the UGC

Act and is therefore empowered to award degrees.

The communication dated 28.2.2007, the Indira

Gandhi National Open University also needs

reference hereunder:

"This has reference to your letter No.VMRF/SEC/ FDE/2006 dated 30.11.2006 regarding approval of programme offered though distance mode by Faculty of Distance Education, Vinayaka Missions's University. I am pleased to inform you that the Hon'ble Chairman, Distance Education Council, based on recommendations made by the Expert Committee which visited the University on 4.2.2007 has granted recognition to the courses under offer by Faculty of Distance Education of your university through the distance mode for a

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period of five years w.e.f. the date of issue of this letter.

The university as quality enhancement measure may consider the implementation of the following recommendations and inform the action in these lines to the DEC at the earliest.

I. The number of programmes needs to be pruned down and in case of technical and professional programmes, necessary approval must be taken from the respective regulator, bodies before offering the programmes:

II. Within one year from the date of recognition given, all course material should be transformed systematically in self learning mode (SLM):

III. Core Faculty as per DEC norms should be maintained for offering each programme.

IV. Further the AAV programmes, CDs, Portal should be systematically prepared to match the level of the programmes being offered. This should be undertake on top priority and completed within one year.

V. In case of offering programmes through study centres, DEC Norms and Guidelines must be adhered to.

VI. The university should also inform the progress made along the above suggestions every year."

15. That communication also makes it apparently clear

that the programme of distance mode of faculty of

distance education of the Vinayaka Missions

University is recognized and, therefore, the action of

the respondents in not considering a Certificate of

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Live Stock Inspector issued by such university for the

purposes of being qualified is misconceived.

16. It will also be in the fitness of things to reproduce the

extract of communication dated 16.5.2011 of the UGC

(Relevant Table No.4 reproduced hereunder) which

categorically makes it clear that a degree obtained in

regular mode and distance mode are at par.

4. Degree, Diploma and Degree obtained in Certificate obtained in regular mode and in regular mode or in distance mode is at par.

      distance      mode     are
      equivalent or not kindly
      give details.

17. All these facets of the communications and the

instances on hand would indicate that it is

misconceived on the part of the respondents to

consider the qualification of live stock inspectors'

certificate issued by the Vinayaka Mission University

as not a valid qualification in accordance with the

Recruitment Rules. The job profile of a live stock

inspector cannot be compared to that of one medical

education, physiotherapy of pharmacy as is envisaged

and submitted placing reliance on public notice dated

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23.2.2018 by the respondents, the petitioners have

passed their examinations under the live stock

inspectors category in the year 2011 and, therefore, a

communication of 2014 or 2015 or 2018 cannot be

now relied upon to consider the petitioners as being

disqualified for appointment to the posts of Live Stock

Inspectors.

18. Through the rejoinder filed by the counsel for the

petitioners, it has been brought on record that

Vinayaka Missions University was considered as a

valid degree qualification and a certificate awarded

thereunder was considered valid where one Mr.

Chauhan Prithviraj Chinubhai was selected and

appointed, earlier as stock-man (Junior Grade) which

was then re-designated as Live Stock Inspector. Being

therefore a recognized qualification granted by a

University which is a deemed university recognized

as such under the UGC Act, as is evident from the

communications reproduced hereinabove, there is no

reason why the appointments of the petitioners

should not be made to the posts of Live Stock

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Inspectors based on their participation in the

selection for the posts in question.

19. Accordingly, all these petitions are allowed. The

deleting of the names of the petitioners from the list

of live stock inspector merit list is quashed and set

aside. The respondent - State is directed to consider

the case of the petitioners and the petitioners are,

therefore, held entitled to be appointed to the posts of

Live Stock Inspectors pursuant to the advertisement

for the posts to which they had applied. It is needless

to say that their case will be considered for granting

consequential benefits including seniority with

notional benefits from the date of their appointment

as per the advertisement. Rule is made absolute to

that extent. Direct Service is permitted.

20. In view of allowing of main matter, connected Civil

Application will no longer survive. Hence, the same

stands disposed of.

(BIREN VAISHNAV, J) VATSAL S. KOTECHA