THE STATE OF KARNATAKA & ORS. versus SHANKAR BABURAO KANGRALKAR & ANR.

Citation: [2018] 1 S.C.R. 909 · Decided: 06-02-2018 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: MADAN B. LOKUR · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

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THE STATE OF KARNATAKA & ORS.
v.
SHANKAR BABURAO KANGRALKAR & ANR.
(Civil Appeal No. 1612 of 2018)
FEBRUARY 06, 2018
[MADAN B. LOKUR AND DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.]
Karnataka Education Department Services (Department of
Public Instructions) (Recruitment) (Amendment) Rules, 2002 –
Recruitment Rules – Interpretation of – Recruitment notification was
issued by the appellants for the appointment of High School Assistant
Teacher Grade-2 – In terms  of the notification the eligibility criteria
for Hindi Language Assistant in Government High School was: (i)
One must  be a holder of Bachelor Degree with Hindi as major
subject and (ii) One must be holder of degree in Education with the
concerned subject or subjects as teaching methods – Respondent
No.1 was not selected on the ground that he did not possess the
requisite qualification for appointment – Both Tribunal and High
Court held that Respondent No.1 was entitled to be considered for
selection to the post of Language Assistant – On appeal, held: The
recruitment rules make a specific category for a Hindi Language
Assistant by requiring a candidate to not only hold a Bachelor’s
Degree but hold such a degree with Hindi as a major subject – The
additional requirement under the Recruitment Rules is that the
candidate must hold a degree in Education with the concerned
subject (Hindi) as a teaching method – Respondent No.1 is a holder
of a Bachelor’s Degree with Hindi as a major subject but does not
hold a B.Ed Degree with Hindi as a teaching method – That being
so, the appellants were  justified in not accepting the candidature
of Respondent No.1 and the Tribunal as well as the High Court
were in error in granting relief to Respondent No.1 – Service Law.
Interpretation of Statutes – Principle of harmonious
construction – Primacy given to, and application of special law as
against general law – Held: If a special provision is made on a
certain matter, that matter is excluded from general provision – This
principle is fully applicable to the Karnataka Education Department
Services Rules which has carved out a special set of eligibility
                                      [2018] 1 S.C.R. 909
   909
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2018] 1 S.C.R.
requirements for a Hindi Language Assistant and there is no
challenge to such a specific requirement – Karnataka Education
Department Services (Department of Public Instructions)
(Recruitment) (Amendment) Rules, 2002.
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1. Both the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal as
well as the High Court were in error and took a rather narrow
and restricted view of the eligibility criteria. [Para 9] [913-D]
2. There is no doubt that under the Karnataka Education
Department Services (Department of Public Instructions)
(Recruitment) (Amendment) Rules, 2002, a Bachelor’s Degree
in Arts in the concerned language is a pre-requisite as also a
B.Ed Degree but as far as a Hindi Language Assistant is
concerned, the eligibility criterion for that post has been singled
out with other requirements. The Recruitment Rules make a
specific category for a Hindi Language Assistant by requiring a
candidate to not only hold a Bachelor’s Degree but hold such a
degree with Hindi as a major subject and not only as an optional
subject. The additional requirement under the Recruitment Rules
is that the candidate must hold a degree in Education with the
concerned subject (Hindi) as a teaching method. In other words,
the requirement for a Hindi Language Assistant is much stricter
than it is for any other language such as Kannada, Marathi, Telugu,
Tamil etc. Essentially, the Recruitment Rules have carved out a
special set of requirements for a Hindi Language Assistant and
there is no challenge to such a specific requirement. [Para 10]
[913-E-G]
3.  It is well settled that if a special provision is made on a
certain matter, that matter is excluded from the general provision.
This principle is fully applicable to The Karnataka Education
Department Services (Department of Public Instructions)
(Recruitment) (Amendment) Rules, 2002 and the provision
relating to the post of a Hindi Language Assistant. [Para 12]
[914-D]
4.  The undisputed facts are that although Respondent No.1
does have a Bachelor’s Degree with Hindi as a major subject,
but he does not have a B.Ed with Hindi as a teaching method.
That being so, the appellants were justified in not accepting the
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candidature of Respondent No.1 and the Karnataka

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