Jharkhand High Court
Unnayan Utkarsha vs State Of Jharkhand Through The Chief ... on 2 April, 2025
Author: Ananda Sen
Bench: Ananda Sen
2025:JHHC:10812
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P.(S) No. 1564 of 2025
Unnayan Utkarsha, aged about 23 years, Son of Pradeep Kumar, Resident
of Village - Nawatoli, Daltonganj, P.O. & P.S. -Daltonganj, District -
Palamau, Jharkhand - 822101. ...Petitioner(s)
Versus
1. State of Jharkhand through the Chief Secretary, Government of
Jharkhand, having office at Project Building, Dhurwa, P.O. Dhurwa, P.S. -
Jagarnathpur, District - Ranchi.
2. Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of
Jharkhand, having office at Project Building, Dhurwa, P.O. Dhurwa, P.S. -
Jagarnathpur, District - Ranchi.
3. Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, through its Secretary, having its
office at Chaibagan Gali, Kali Nagar, P.O. & P.S. -Namkum, District -
Ranchi.
4. Controller of Examination, Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission,
having its office at Chaibagan Gali, Kali Nagar, P.O. & P.S. - Namkum,
District - Ranchi.
5. Indian Nursing Council, through its Secretary, having office at 8th Floor,
N.B.C.C. Centre, Plot No. 2, Community Centre, Okhla, Phase I, New
Delhi, P.O. & P.S. - Okhla, District - New Delhi -110020.
...Respondent(s)
............
CORAM : SRI ANANDA SEN, J.
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Amritansh Vats, Advocate
For Resp-State : Ms. Richa Sanchita, GA-V
Mr. Gaurav Abhishek, Advocate
...........
03/02.04.2025 By way of filing this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the
following relief-
i. For issuance of an appropriate writ (s), order (s), direction (s) or a writ in
the nature of Certiorari for quashing of the part of Clause 5 (4) of
Advertisement No. 20 of 2023 (Annexure-1) for appointment on the post
of Staff Nurse Grade-A (GNM) to the extent of inclusion of
+2/Intermediate in Biology from the recognized affiliated institution as
the same is contrary to the minimum educational eligibility criteria as
prescribed by Indian Nursing Council which has prescribed the minimum
educational eligibility criteria for taking admission in General Nursing
Midwifery (GNM) is +2 with English having minimum 40% marks.
AND
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ii. During pendency of the writ petition, operation implementation of
Clause 5 (4) of Advertisement No. 20 of 2023, so far it relates to the
appointment of Staff Nurse Grade A (GNM), be stayed.
AND/OR
iii. For any other appropriate relief or reliefs for which the petitioner is found
to be entitled to in the fact and circumstances of this case as also to do
conscionable justice to the petitioner.
2. The facts admitted in this case are that the Jharkhand Staff Selection
Commission announced advertisement for various Class-III posts,
including pharmacist, lab assistant, X-ray technician, and staff nurse
(Grade A), through Advertisement No. 20 of 2023. The petitioner, who
completed his Intermediate (+2) exams in Science with Physics,
Chemistry, and Maths in 2019, holds a Diploma in General Nursing and
Midwifery (GNM) from a recognized institute and is registered with the
Jharkhand Nurse Registration Council, applied against the said
advertisement. According to the Indian Nursing Council and Jharkhand's
GNM guidelines, the minimum qualification for GNM is +2 with English,
and at least 40% marks in the qualifying exams, including English but in
Advertisement No. 20 of 2023 the minimum qualification has been set as
having Intermediate (+2) qualification in Science with Physics, Chemistry,
and Biology. The petitioner requested the authorities to remove the
Biology requirement for the Staff Nurse Grade-A post, but no action has
been taken.
3. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the
petitioner has completed the GNM training with a +2 qualification in
English and obtained at least 40%, but the requirement of having Biology
in +2 for the Staff Nurse Grade-A post is preventing the petitioner from
participating in the exam. He further submits that the petitioner has
requested the authorities to remove the Biology requirement, but no action
has been taken. He further submits that this requirement is unfair since
Biology is not needed to enroll in the GNM course, and the GNM
qualification itself is a technical qualification for the Staff Nurse post. The
inclusion of Biology as a qualification contradicts the Indian Nursing
Council's guidelines, which set the minimum requirements for the GNM
course. He further submits that the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission
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(JSSC) has no authority to impose this additional requirement, as it goes
against the standards set by the Indian Nursing Council, which is the
statutory body under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947.
4. Learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the eligibility
qualification as prescribed under Advertisement No. 20 of 2023 for
appointment on the post of Staff Nurse Grade-A (GNM) is the minimum
requirement which candidate need to possess. He further submits that the
eligibility qualification mentioned in table of Clause 5 of Advertisement
No. 20 of 2023 are in accordance with the norms prescribed for the post of
Staff Nurse Grade-A. The inclusion of Biology as one of the subjects in
the +2 qualification is legitimate and reasonable criteria, which is
consistent with the evolving needs of healthcare services. He further
submits that the pre-requisite of having Biology in the +2 qualification is
not discriminatory or arbitrary. The decision to include this subject has
been made after due consideration of the job requirements, and it applies
uniformly to all candidates.
5. Since this is writ in the nature of certiorari, counter affidavit is not
required to be filed. I have gone through the records of the case. The
petitioner's academic qualifications (Intermediate with Physics,
Chemistry, and Mathematics) do not include Biology, which is an essential
subject under the qualification requirement. The inclusion of Biology in
the +2 qualification for the post of Staff Nurse Grade-A is a reasonable
requirement, taking into account the nature of the duties to be performed
by the Staff Nurse Grade-A in healthcare institutions. This writ petition
should not be entertained as it pertains to administrative decisions
regarding eligibility criteria, which do not require judicial intervention.
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Maharashtra Public Service
Commission through its Secretary versus Sandeep Shriram Warade and
others reported in (2019) 6 SCC 362 has held that Court cannot interfere
in deciding eligibility criteria for the appointment of a post. Only State or
employer has the power to decide eligibility criteria for the appointment.
The relevant paragraph is cited below-
"9. The essential qualifications for appointment to a post are for the
employer to decide. The employer may prescribe additional or
2025:JHHC:10812
desirable qualifications, including any grant of preference. It is the
employer who is best suited to decide the requirements a candidate
must possess according to the needs of the employer and the nature
of work. The court cannot lay down the conditions of eligibility,
much less can it delve into the issue with regard to desirable
qualifications being on a par with the essential eligibility by an
interpretive re-writing of the advertisement. Questions of
equivalence will also fall outside the domain of judicial review. If
the language of the advertisement and the rules are clear, the court
cannot sit in judgment over the same. If there is an ambiguity in the
advertisement or it is contrary to any rules or law the matter has to
go back to the appointing authority after appropriate orders, to
proceed in accordance with law. In no case can the court, in the
garb of judicial review, sit in the chair of the appointing authority to
decide what is best for the employer and interpret the conditions of
the advertisement contrary to the plain language of the same."
6. In view of what has been held and discussed above and also in the
light of the observations of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, as aforesaid, the
petitioner's plea to exclude the Biology requirement from the eligibility
criteria is without any merit. There being no merit, this writ petition is,
accordingly, dismissed.
7. Pending interlocutory applications, if any, stand disposed of.
(ANANDA SEN, J.)
Tanuj/v/C-2
AFR
