Recruitment Rules for Promotion: Minimum 60% Marks Condition Not Applicable to Degree Holders.

The applicant, Himanshu Bakshi, was appointed as a Demonstrator (Electrical Engineering) on March 30, 2017, possessing a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering.

His service conditions are governed by the J&K Technical Education (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2002 and the J&K Technical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 2002, notified vide SRO 328 dated August 29, 2002.

Under Schedule-IIA of the Gazetted Rules, 50% of Lecturer-I (Engineering) posts are filled by promotion.

Demonstrators with six years of experience (for Degree holders) or eight years with minimum 60% marks (for Diploma holders) are eligible for promotion if suitable Lecturer-II candidates are unavailable.

The applicant completed six years of service as a Degree-holder Demonstrator on March 30, 2023, making him eligible for promotion to Lecturer-I (Electrical Engineering).

The Final Seniority List of Demonstrators (Electrical Engineering) dated April 25, 2023, placed the applicant at Serial No. 3, while private respondents subsequently promoted were at Serial Nos. 6, 7, and 8.

The respondents initiated the promotion process in March 2023, and the applicant's name was included in communications for DPC consideration.

However, the applicant was excluded from DPC consideration on the ground that he had not secured a minimum of 60% marks in his Degree, a requirement the applicant contended applied only to Diploma holders.

The DPC, held on September 21, 2023, considered the applicant but found him ineligible because he secured 53.12% marks in his Degree, which was less than the 60% deemed required by the respondents under SRO 328 of 2002.

Aggrieved by his exclusion, the applicant filed representations, and this Tribunal, vide order dated October 11, 2023, directed the respondents to decide his representation.

Notwithstanding this, the DPC proceeded, and two junior Demonstrators were promoted via Government Order No. 117-JK(DSD) of 2023 dated December 11, 2023.

The applicant challenged this in OA No. 1653/2023, and an interim stay was granted on December 19, 2023.

Despite the ongoing proceedings and interim order, the respondents issued another Government Order No. 14-JK(DSD) of 2024 dated March 16, 2024, promoting additional junior Demonstrators (private respondent Nos. 4 to 6).

The Department rejected the applicant's claim for promotion via Government Order No. 120-JK(DSD) of 2023 dated December 13, 2023, reiterating his ineligibility.

Whether the requirement of securing a minimum of 60% marks applies to Degree-holder Demonstrators for promotion to Lecturer-I (Electrical Engineering) as per the J&K Technical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 2002 (SRO 328 dated 29.08.2002), or if such condition is confined only to Diploma holders.

Whether the exclusion of the applicant from promotion to Lecturer-I (Electrical Engineering) on the ground of not securing 60% marks in his Degree was legally tenable.

The court primarily applied the J&K Technical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 2002, notified vide SRO 328 dated August 29, 2002, which governs the eligibility for promotion to the post of Lecturer-I (Engineering).

Specifically, the rule provides for promotion of Demonstrators/Drawing Instructors with six years' experience (for Degree holders) and eight years' experience with minimum 60% marks (for Diploma holders).

The court also relied on the principle of statutory interpretation that eligibility conditions must be strictly construed, and neither the administration nor the court can add words to a rule not expressly provided, to avoid judicial or administrative legislation.

The court found that the relevant portion of SRO 328 of 2002 clearly bifurcates eligibility criteria for Degree holders and Diploma holders, grammatically and structurally attaching the phrase "with minimum 60% marks" solely to the Diploma holder category.

There was no express clause in the rule mandating a minimum 60% marks for Degree holders for promotion to Lecturer-I.

Applying the principle of strict statutory interpretation, the Tribunal concluded that inferring such a requirement for Degree holders would amount to impermissible judicial or administrative legislation, as the rule-making authority would have explicitly stated it if intended.

Therefore, the DPC's decision to deem the applicant ineligible based on his 53.12% marks in his Degree was founded on an erroneous interpretation of the Recruitment Rules.

The applicant, having completed six years of service as a Degree-holder Demonstrator by March 30, 2023, met the eligibility criteria applicable to his category.

The court clarified that while it typically defers to DPC recommendations, intervention is justified when decisions stem from a misinterpretation of statutory rules or exclusion based on legally untenable grounds.

The impugned Government Order No. 14-JK(DSD) of 2024 dated March 16, 2024, insofar as it pertains to the Electrical Engineering stream and excluded the applicant's consideration due to the 60% marks requirement in Degree, was set aside.

The respondents were directed to convene a Review DPC within 12 weeks to reconsider the applicant's case for promotion as Lecturer-I (Electrical Engineering), treating him as eligible upon completion of six years of service without insisting on the minimum 60% marks in Degree.

If found fit, the applicant is to be granted promotion with notional seniority and continuity of service from the date his immediate junior was promoted, with monetary benefits accruing from the date of actual assumption of charge.

Both Original Applications were disposed of accordingly.