IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P. No. 4428 of 2009. Date of Decision : April 02, 2009. Charanjit Singh, Advocate, and others. ....... Petitioners. Versus. State of Haryana, through Financial Commissioner and Secretary to Government of Haryana, Labour and Employment Department, Civil Secretariat, Haryana, Chandigarh, and others. ....... Respondents. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. KUMAR. HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH. Present:- Mr. Jitender S. Chahal, Advocate, for the petitioners. 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the Judgment ? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest ? . AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J. The petitioners through this writ petition are challenging the qualification prescribed for appointment to the post of Labour Officer-cum- Conciliation Officer in the Haryana Labour Department Group 'B' Service Rules, 1987, by promotion and the qualification prescribed for appointment under the Haryana Labour Department Group 'B' Service First Amendment Rules, 1994, by direct recruitment extracts thereof are appended as Annexure-P- 2 and Annexure-P- 1 respectively. They are also challenging the advertisement dated 23.01.2009 (Annexure-P-3) qua which the applications have been requisitioned for recruitment for the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer. C.W.P. No. 4428 of 2009. The petitioners are challenging the said rules on the ground that the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer is a post where the incumbent has to perform judicial and quasi judicial functions under various Acts and enactments which require legal knowledge and these require an incumbent to have the knowledge of general procedural acts like The Indian Evidence Act, the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal Procedure etc. The holder of this post has to perform various responsibilities which are attached with the post and has, thus, to apply his independent mind and for that he needs to have legal background. It has further been contended by the petitioners that by not prescribing the Degree in Law as the basic qualification for appointment to the said post, Article 15 of the Constitution of India stands violated as the Judiciary and the Executive need to be separated. A person who is not conversant with general procedural laws can even be appointed on the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer. It has further been contended by the petitioners that the same qualification should have been provided for the appointment to the post by way of direct recruitment as well as promotion and the L.L.B. should be an essential qualification. Reliance has been made on the order of the Allahabad High Court in the case of Surendera Kumar Sharma Versus State of U.P. and others, 2002 Lab. I.C. 3613, in support of this contention It is on this basis that the vires of the Rules have been challenged. We have heard counsel for the petitioner and have gone through the records of the case. The qualifications as prescribed under The Haryana Labour Department Group 'B' Service First Amendment Rules, 1994, as contained in -2- C.W.P. No. 4428 of 2009. Appendix 'B' for appointment by way of direct recruitment or transfer or deputation read as follows :- 1. Graduate from a recognized University with Economics, Public Administration, Commerce, Business Management, Sociology, Psychology as one of the subjects. 2. Law Degree with Labour Laws as one of the subjects. or Degree in Labour Welfare from any recognized University or Institution. 3. Knowledge of Hindi upto Matric Standard. The qualifications prescribed for appointment by promotion under The Haryana Labour Department (Group 'B') Service Rules, 1987 in Appendix 'B' read as follows :- 1. Graduate from recognized University. 2. Degree or diploma in Social Work or Labour Welfare or its equivalent from amy recognized University or Institution. 3. Three years experience as Superintendent or Head Assistant or Legal Assistant or Labour Inspector. 4. Adequate knowledge of Hindi. A perusal of the above would show that as far as the academic qualification and experience prescribed for filling up the post by way of direct recruitment or transfer or deputation is concerned, the qualification of Law Degree with Labour Laws as one of essential subjects or the candidate is required to have a degree in Labour Welfare apart from being a graduate in the specified field. The makers of the Rules were aware of the -3- C.W.P. No. 4428 of 2009. requirements of the post for which the qualifications were being prescribed. As is apparent from the above, the area of operation and the fields to be covered by the Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer, while performing his duties are amply covered by the qualifications prescribed for appointment to the post. He should have essential knowledge and the background of the laws, which he is required to consider and apply while giving effect to his responsibilities. It cannot be said that the incumbents would be totally blank or unprepared with regard to the job they were required to perform. The submissions of the petitioners that L.L.B. should be an essential qualification cannot be said to be the basic requirement for performing the duties as the Acts which are to be given effect to and implemented by the Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer do not require strict adherence to the procedural laws. The basic principles, in any case, are well known and are imbibed in the Acts, which have to be given effect to, while performing the duties, which if followed properly would leave no manner of doubt that full justice would be done to the responsibilities, which the holder of the post is required to give effect to. Similar is the case with regard to qualifications prescribed for promotion to the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer . There again degree or diploma in Social Work or Labour Welfare or its equivalent from any recognised University or Institution apart from the incumbent to be a graduate from a recognized University apart from having three years experience as Superintendent or Head Assistant or Legal Assistant or Labour Inspector is required. The experience, which an employee gains while holding senior post in the department is invaluable. During this period not only the procedural aspects come to his knowledge but the legal aspects also -4- C.W.P. No. 4428 of 2009. are given effect to by them during the course of performance of their duties. Not only this, the educational qualifications as has been enumerated above also arms him with the knowledge of the laws, which he is required to implement and make use of, while performing his duties as Labour Officer- cum-Conciliation Officer. All this goes to show that the qualifications, which have been prescribed by the competent authority by way of direct recruitment and promotion to the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer, is well thought of and are directly connected with and related to the job, which the holder of the post is required to perform. The qualifications prescribed cannot be said to be arbitrary, unjust, irrelevant or lacking in any manner, which would give reason to the petitioners to contend that the said qualifications prescribed do not fulfill the essential basis for appointment to the post. In any case, it is not the function of the Courts to interfere with the qualifications prescribed for a particular post by the competent authority under the statute unless the same is said to have been prescribed in violation of some statutory requirements or as mandated under law. In the present case, no such violation of any law or mandate of law prescribing L.L.B. degree as an essential qualification for appointment to the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer by direct recruitment or by promotion has been pleaded nor pointed out or brought to the notice of this Court during the arguments. It is the prerogative of the competent authority which has created the post to prescribe the qualifications for appointment to the said post as that very authority would be aware of the purpose and the intent for which the post stood created. It would, therefore, be the best judge to assess, analyse, and prescribe the qualifications for filling up the post. It would, -5- C.W.P. No. 4428 of 2009. therefore, within the plannery powers of the competent authority, which the Courts would refrain from interfering with, unless however the same is found to be in violation of statute or the mandate of law and of course, if the same is totally arbitrary or unreasonable and having been brought about with malafide intention, that obviously would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. In the present case, none of these conditions are applicable, inviting interference by this Court. The reliance of the petitioners on the order dated 08.04.2002, passed by the Division Bench of Allahabad High Court in the case of Surendera Kumar Sharma (supra), is totally misplaced as the said order cannot be said to be a judgment, as the same was only a prima-facie view expressed by the Court, while issuing notice to the other side as is apparent from the order itself. There is no adjudication by the Court nor has the Court pronounced or laid down the law on the issues involved in the case. We have analysed and found the qualifications prescribed for the post of Labour Officer-cum-Conciliation Officer to be fully justified and do not find the same to be arbitrary and unjust, which would call for interference by this Court. Finding no merit in the present writ petition, the same, therefore, stands dismissed. (M.M. KUMAR) (AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH) JUDGE JUDGE April 02, 2009. sjks. -6-