The Supreme Court has today deferred hearing a plea filed by a man challenging the order of the Kerala High Court which had denied to include him in the rank-list for the post of High School Assistant. The Court has asked him to file additional documents before the bench.
A divisional bench of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Aniruddha Bose noted, “Mr. Counsel, you have not filed rank list before us. You have not made necessary party and you are asking for stay, file that order.”
The bench had earlier issued notice in a plea against the order of the Kerala High Court which had allowed the appeal filed by the Kerala Public Service Commission against the tribunal order directing inclusion of him in the rank-list for the post of High School Assistant [Natural Science] [Malayalam Medium].
The fact of the case avers that as per the contentions of Praveen, he was an eligible candidate pursuant to notification for post of High School Assistant. The eligibility to qualify for the said post was a Degree in concerned subject and B.Ed./B.T. in concerned subject. The pre-requisite for applicants for the post of HSA [Natural Science] was to have their Degree and B.Ed. in either Botany, Zoology, Home Science or Microbiology as main subjects for Graduation or Post-Graduation.
The bench of Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice V.G.Arun of the High Court of Kerala had observed that the Bachelor of Education qualification certificate of Praveen does not mention any subject in which degree was awarded. The Petitioner produced mark lists of the course and contended that it was a double Degree enables him to teach both Biology and Chemistry.
Further, the High Court while reversing tribunal order gave the finding that “there would have been many other candidates with the very same qualification, who would not have applied in the belief that the said qualification is not one prescribed in the notification.”
The High Court of Kerala categorically observed that “We fail to understand as to how the Tribunal termed the B.Ed. qualification as one in Biological Science, since it is not evident from the Certificates produced.”
“However, the Supreme Court had denigrated the practice of the High Court granting equivalency and categorically held that the equivalency had to be specified in the notification,” noted the high court in its order.