CWP No. 4539 of 2010(O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No. 4539 of 2010(O&M) Decided on : 31-01-2011 Anita Kadian ....Petitioner VERSUS State of Haryana and another ....Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MAHESH GROVER Present:- Mr. Rajbir Sehrawat, Advocate for petitioner. Mr. Harish Rathee, Sr. DAG, Haryana MAHESH GROVER, J The petitioner who is working as Drawing teacher with the respondents since 30.5.1998 seeks promotion to the post of Lecturer (School Cadre) in the subject of Fine Arts. Her claim has been ignored in preference to the juniors who have been promoted on the ground that she does not possess degree of MA in Fine Arts with atleast 50% marks from a recognized University. The eligibility condition as contained in the Haryana State School Education Lecturer School Cadre (Group C) Service Rules 1998 is as follows:- i) MA Fine Arts with at least 50% Marks from recognized University ii)2 years teaching experience as Masters/Classical and Vernacular Teacher” The petitioner being a holder of degree of BFA has thus been held not entitled to any promotion and this is the sole objection as revealed to this Court in the reply filed to the petition. CWP No. 4539 of 2010(O&M) 2 Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the degree of BFA has been acknowledged by the respondents to be equivalent to MA in Fine Arts and there is no justifiable reason to decline her the consideration for promotion. Learned counsel for the respondents while referring to the prime objection in the reply has stated that the eligibility condition is explicit that a person should have MA in Fine Arts with atleast 50% marks from a recognized University and there is no provision or rule for consideration of any degree or qualification of an equivalent nature. After hearing learned counsel for the parties and upon due consideration of the matter, I feel that the stand of the respondents is not justifiable. Annexure P-7 are the instructions issued by the State of Haryana who after having undertaken an exploratory exercise have determined the degrees which have equivalence to each other and are to be recognized for the purposes of admission and recruitment. The relevant extract o;f the said instructions is as below:- “That the Degrees /Diplomas/ Certificates/ Examinations recognized by the Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar, NDRI, Karnal Board of School Education Haryana, Bhiwani, State Board of Technical Education Haryana would stand recognized in the State of Haryana for admission and recruitment purposes.” Once the respondents themselves have acknowledged the fact that the degrees recognized by Kurukshetra University are to be considered CWP No. 4539 of 2010(O&M) 3 a sufficient barometer qua the eligibility conditions then by saying that the rules do not provide for an equivalence thereof amounts to creating an artificial distinction which leans towards arbitrariness. The qualification as given out by the Kurukshetra University duly recognizes the degree of BFA as equivalent to MA in Fine Arts for the purposes of the appointment to Lecturer in the college cadre. The same is extracted hereinbelow:- “Qualification of the post of Lecturers and Principals in the recognized Arts, Science and Commerce Colleges including restructure courses:- e) Fine Arts:- i) Good academic record with at least 55% marks or an equivalent grade at master's degree level in the relevant subject from an Indian University or an equivalent degree from a foreign University. Note : for the post of Lecturers in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Five years Diploma from a recognized University/ Institution will be treated as equivalent to the Master's degree. In their case for the purpose of determining good academic record the performance in matric and equivalent examination and the yearly examinations taken during the Diploma Course will be considered. ii)x x x x Qualification of the post of Lecturers and Principals in the recognized colleges of Education. MA (Fine Art/ Drawing and Painting) or BFA/5 years Diploma or MFA. Note: For the post of Lecturers in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Five years' Diploma or BFA from a recognized CWP No. 4539 of 2010(O&M) 4 University/ Institution will be treated as equivalent to the Master's degree. In their case for the purpose of determining good academic record, the performance in Matric and equivalent examination and the yearly examination taken during the Diploma Course will be considered.” It is thus evident that the degree of BFA has been placed on the same pedestal as that of MA Fine Arts and once it is acknowledged to be so then I am afraid that the denial of the right of consideration to the petitioner on the ground that she does not possess the requisite qualification is not justifiable. Consequently, I accept the petition and set aside the impugned order (Annexure P-4) and direct the respondents to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Lecturer School Cadre w.e.f date when her juniors have been promoted and in case there is no post available then petitioner shall be given a deemed promotion w.e.f the date when her juniors have been promoted. January 31, 2011 (Mahesh Grover) rekha Judge