News Citation : 2025 LN (HC) 4
Bilaspur, July 03, 2025 : The High Court of Chhattisgarh has delivered a significant ruling affecting public sector recruitment in the state, holding that engineering graduates cannot be excluded from appointment to Sub-Engineer posts merely because recruitment rules prescribe a diploma as the sole qualification. The court declared the relevant provision of the Chhattisgarh Public Health Engineering Department (Non-Gazetted) Recruitment and Conditions of Service Rules, 2016 as illegal and ultra vires, clearing the way for degree holders to participate fully in the selection process.
The judgment was passed while deciding two connected writ petitions filed by aspiring candidates who hold bachelor’s degrees in engineering. They had challenged Schedule III of the 2016 Rules, which limited eligibility for direct recruitment to Sub-Engineer (Civil, Mechanical and Electrical) posts to candidates possessing a three-year diploma. According to the petitioners, this provision effectively barred better-qualified engineering graduates, even though degree holders were considered eligible for promotion under a separate quota within the same rules.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru found the distinction arbitrary and lacking any rational basis. The court observed that excluding degree holders, who possess higher technical knowledge and training, not only undermines efficiency in public administration but also violates the constitutional guarantees of equality and equal opportunity in public employment under Articles 14 and 16.
The judges took note of the fact that other state departments, including the Public Works Department and power utilities, permit both diploma and degree holders to apply for Sub-Engineer posts. This, the court held, made the restrictive approach adopted by the Public Health Engineering Department discriminatory. Relying on settled constitutional principles and Supreme Court precedent, the Bench concluded that eligibility criteria must have a reasonable connection with the nature of the duties to be performed and the skills required for the job.
Significantly, the court also recalled that during the pendency of the case, it had granted interim relief allowing engineering graduates to apply and appear in the recruitment examination conducted by CG Vyapam, subject to the final outcome of the petitions. With the rules now struck down to the extent of their exclusionary effect, the authorities have been directed to continue the selection process and consider the candidature of degree holders who meet all other conditions mentioned in the advertisement.
The ruling is expected to have a broader impact on government recruitment policies in Chhattisgarh, reinforcing the principle that higher qualifications cannot be treated as a disqualification unless there is a clear and rational justification for doing so.
Case Reference : WPS No. 1983 of 2025, Arvind Kumar and Others v. State of Chhattisgarh and Others, and WPS No. 2012 of 2025, Dhagendra Kumar Sahu and Others v. State of Chhattisgarh and Others; counsel for petitioners: Mr. Ajay Shrivastava, Mr. G.P. Mathur and Ms. Pratibha Sahu; for the State: Mr. Shashank Thakur, Deputy Advocate General; for CG Vyapam: Mr. Avinash Singh; and for the intervener: Mr. Uttam Pandey and Mr. Bharat Sharma, Advocates.