WPSB/118/2021
2021 Latest Caselaw 782 UK

  IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
             AT NAINITAL

THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI RAGHVENDRA SINGH CHAUHAN
                                   AND
           THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE ALOK KUMAR VERMA



       WRIT PETITION (S/B) NO.118 OF 2021


                          9TH March, 2021


Between:


Km. Anita Tamta.                                     .......Petitioner

and

Uttarakhand           Public   Service      Commission,          Gurukul

Kangri, Haridwar and another.

                                                   .......Respondents




Counsel         for       the : Mr. B.M. Pingal with Mr. Susheel
petitioner                      Kumar, learned counsels.

Counsel for respondent : Mr. N.S. Pundir, learned counsel.
No. 1.

Counsel for respondent : Mr. B.D. Upadhyaya, learned
No. 2.                   Senior Advocate assisted by Mrs.
                         Mamta Bisht, learned counsel.



The Court made the following:


JUDGMENT: (per Hon'ble The Chief Justice Sri Raghvendra Singh Chauhan)




       The petitioner has pleaded before this Court that

she has done her B.Sc. in (Bio-Technology).                         Since
 she considered herself to be eligible for the post of

Assistant     Conservator              of   Forest,       and    since    an

advertisement had been issued by the Uttarakhand

Public      Service        Commission              (for     short        "the

Commission"), she applied for the same. However, by

the order dated 10.12.2020, the candidature of the

petitioner has been rejected ostensibly on the ground

that,    according             to     the    essential          educational

qualification, a candidate is required to have a degree

of Bachelor of Science, or B.Tech, or B.E. along with

one     paper    in      (i)        Agriculture,    (ii)   Botany,       (iii)

Chemistry,       (iv)      Computer            Application/Computer

Science, (v) Engineering Agriculture/Chemical/Civil

Computer/        Electrical/           Electronics/Mechanical,           (vi)

Environmental Science, (vii) Forestry, (viii) Geology,

(ix) Horticulture, (x) Mathematics, (xi) Physics, (xii)

Statistics,     (xiii)     Veterinary         Science,          and   (xiv)

Zoology.        According to the Commission since the

petitioner is a holder of Bachelor of Science (Bio-

Technology), she does not have a Bachelor of Science

or an equivalent degree.

2.            Prima facie, the position being taken by the

Commission is untenable. For, Bachelor of Science in

(Bio-Technology) is nonetheless a Bachelor of Science
                                        2
 degree, although in the specialized field of Bio-

Technology.       Moreover,     even      a    student     of   Bio-

Technology would necessarily have to study Biology,

Zoology and Chemistry, (the papers mentioned under

the eligibility requirement).        Therefore, prima facie,

the petitioner does have an equivalent degree to a

degree of Bachelor of Science.

3.          Even the balance of convenience is in

favour of the petitioner.       For, in case the petitioner

were    allowed     to   take       the       main    examination

provisionally, no harm would be caused to the

Commission.

4.          Moreover, if the petitioner is denied her

right to take the examination, she would suffer an

irreparable loss.

5.          Hence, for the reasons stated above, this

Court directs the Commission to permit the petitioner

to   take   the    main-examination            for   the   post   of

Assistant Conservator Forest, scheduled to be held on

13.03.2021, on a provisional basis. The petitioner's

result shall be kept in a sealed envelope. The said

result shall not be declared without the permission of

this Court.


                                3
 6.           The learned counsel for the petitioner is

directed to implead the UGC as a party respondent in

this case.

7.           Let a certified copy of this order be issued

to the learned counsel for the petitioner today itself

on the payment of usual charges.




                _____________________________
                RAGHVENDRA SINGH CHAUHAN, C.J.



                                 ___________________
                                 ALOK KUMAR VERMA, J.

Dt:09th March, 2021 Neha/Pant