NORTH DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION versus KAVINDER AND OTHERS

Citation: [2020] 6 S.C.R. 13 · Decided: 21-07-2020 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.Y. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

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NORTH DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
v.
KAVINDER AND OTHERS
(Civil Appeal No. 232 of 2020)
JULY 21, 2020
[DR. DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD,
INDU MALHOTRA AND K. M. JOSEPH, JJ.]
Service Law:
Selection/ Recruitment – Eligibility requirement for the post
in question was post-graduate degree or diploma in social work/
Labour Welfare/ Industrial Relations/ Personnel Management/ Any
other allied subjects – Respondent-candidate declared ineligible
for the post – Central Administrative Tribunal held the candidate
as eligible for appointment to the post as he fulfilled the eligibility
criteria since he had studied certain subjects in his MBA degree
course which had bearing on the eligibility requirement for the post
– High Court affirmed the order of the Tribunal – Appeal to Supreme
Court – Held: The subjects studied by the candidate during MBA
course cannot lead to conclusion that he had post-graduate degree
or diploma in the disciplines specifically spelt out in the
advertisement for the post – MBA degree cannot be regarded as
allied to a post-graduate degree or diploma – The employer was
best suited to judge whether the degree of the candidate was in an
allied subject – Judgment of the Courts below was erroneous.
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: The eligibility requirements stipulated in the
advertisement are that the candidate must have a post-graduate
degree or diploma in (i) Social Work; or (ii) Labour Welfare; or
(iii) Industrial Relations; or (iv) Personnel Management; or (v)
in any other allied subject of a recognized University/institution
or equivalent. The first respondent in the MBA degree
programme, during the course of the second semester, studied
Human Resource Management as a subject. In the fourth
semester, the first respondent had a course in Industrial Relations
and Labour Legislation. Studying these two subjects would not
[2020] 6 S.C.R. 13
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2020] 6 S.C.R.
lead to the conclusion that the first respondent holds a post-
graduate degree or diploma in the disciplines which have been
specifically spelt out in the advertisement or in any allied subject.
The MBA degree cannot be regarded as allied to a post-graduate
degree or diploma in Social Work, Labour Welfare, Industrial
Relations or Personnel Management. The advertisement did not
specifically provide how equivalence was to be established
between a post-graduate degree/diploma in the subjects specified
in the advertisement and a post-graduate degree/diploma in an
allied subject. The appellant as an employer was best suited to
judge whether the degree of the first respondent was in an allied
subject. Unless this assessment was perverse or contrary to the
requirements prescribed, the Tribunal had no reason to interfere.
Therefore, the Tribunal was manifestly in error in holding that
the first respondent was qualified merely because he studied two
subjects as a part of his MBA degree programme, namely, Human
Resource Management and Industrial Relations and Labour
Legislation. Therefore, the findings which have been arrived at
by the Tribunal and affirmed by the High Court are erroneous.
[Paras 8-10][17-D-H; 18-A-C]
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 232 of
2020.
From the Judgment and Order dated 29.11.2016 of the High Court
of Delhi at New Delhi in Writ Petition (C) No. 11274 of 2016.
Ajay Bansal, Praveen Swarup, Amit Singh, Kanishk Singh, Advs.
for the Appellant.
Kanhaiya Singhal, Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, Ms. Sunita Sharma,
B.V. Balaram Das, Advs. for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
DR. DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.
1. This appeal arises from a judgment and order of the Division
Bench of the High Court of Delhi dated 29 November 2016. The High
Court has, in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the
Constitution, affirmed a judgment and order of the Central Administrative
Tribunal at its Principal Bench at New Delhi, by which the first respondent
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was held to be qualified for appointment to the post of Labour Welfare
Superintendent.
2. An advertisement was issued for inviting applications for various
posts in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on a competitive basis. Among
the posts that were advertised was that of a Labour Welfare
Superintendent in the Municipal Corporation. The qualifications and
experience required for the post were prescribed as follows:
“Essential Qualifications:
(1) Degree of a recognized University or Equiva

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