The question sprang up before a bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice NV Shravan Kumar as they heard a plea by a woman who had applied for the post of an office subordinate (attendant) in a district court.
The job required her to have studied up to Class 10. However, she was not called for interview just because she had appeared for intermediate and degree exams. She had not cleared the two exams.
Her plea states the court superintendent called for original certificates from other candidates, but did not contact her.
Swaroop Oorilla, standing counsel for the HC, explained that eligible candidates must have completed Class 7 but not more than Class 10. “Since this is an attendant’s post, people with higher educational qualifications would find it difficult to perform the tasks, or officials would find it difficult to get work from them. Hence, there is practical thinking behind the rule,” Oorilla told the court.
The bench observed that it would still be unfair to reject a person on the ground of a higher qualification.
The petitioner’s counsel, Koppula Sravan Kumar, said while it would be unfair to reject those with higher qualifications, this case was different. The petitioner, Kumar pointed out, did not acquire a qualification higher than Class 10. “She appeared for intermediate and degree exams, but failed,” he said.
The bench then wondered how she could appear for a degree exam without clearing her intermediate. Kumar said she switched to distance learning and applied for a graduate course. “In essence, her current qualification is Class 10, not more. Hence, she fits the eligibility criterion for the subordinate’s post,” he said.
The bench then directed the authorities to call her for the interview, but not to declare her result. The judges said they would examine the higher-qualification bar and asked the authorities to file their responses within two weeks.