WPSS No.1155/2009 Hon’ble Tarun Agarwala J. Mr. N.S.Negi, the learned counsel for the petitioner. Mr. Subhash Upadhyay, the learned brief holder for the respondent no.1 to 4. The petitioner has filed the present writ petition praying for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to consider his candidature on the post of Pharmacist in pursuant of the advertisement no. 8552/G- 66/2009-10/Adhi. Dated 5.10.2009. The petitioner contends that he is a permanent domicile of the State of Uttarakhand and has a requisite qualification for applying for the post of Pharmacist. The petitioner contends that he holds the Pharmacist Diploma from Sri Krishna Government Ayurvedic College, Kurukshetra, which is affiliated to the Kurukshetra University and based on the said Diploma, had applied for the said post. The petitioner was, however, not called for the counselling and consequently, the present writ petition. Inspite of time being granted, no counter affidavit has been filed by the respondents. The court directed the respondents to produce the original record, which has been produced today and has been perused by the Court. Annexure-4 of the writ petition is the advertisement, which indicates the prescribed qualification, which the candidate should possess while applying for the post of Pharmacist. The essential qualification is that the candidate must possess two years Diploma in Pharmacy from the institution recognized by the State. The word “ State” has been defined under Rule 3 (G) of the Uttarakhand Ayurvedic and Unani Pharmacist Service Rules, 2009, which means the State of Uttarakhand. Admittedly, the petitioner has taken a diploma from Sri Krishna Government Ayurvedic College, Kurukshetra, which is affiliated to the Kurukshetra University and is out side of the State of Uttarakhand. The contention of the learned brief holder for the State is that since the petitioner had obtained his diploma certificate from a University, which is out side the State of Uttarakhand, consequently, the petitioner was not entitled to be called for counselling. In my opinion, this approach adopted by the respondents is patently misconceived and arbitrary. The eligibility criteria is that the Diploma, which a candidate should possess, should be recognized by the State of Uttarakhand. It is immaterial that the Diploma was obtained from a University which is out side the State of Uttarakhand. The record, which has been produced, does not indicate that the certificate issued by the Institution from where the petitioner has passed out has not been recognized by the State of Uttarakhand. In view of the aforesaid, this court is of the opinion that the petitioner was entitled to be called for counselling and the denial of such opportunity by the respondents was totally arbitrary. In view of the aforesaid, the writ petition succeeds and is allowed. A writ of mandamus is issued commanding the respondents to call the petitioner for counselling on the post of Pharmacist pursuant to the advertisement dated 5.10.2009 within four weeks from the date of the production of a certified copy of this order. Dated:9.6.2010 (Tarun Agarwala, J.) Nishant