- (1.) The writ petition is filed at the instance of a person, who sought for selection as a LPG Distributor for Zirakpur Division but he lost out in a race with the 3rd respondent, who secured higher marks in the selection process. The brochure of the respondent-Corporation had provided for allotment of marks for various educational qualifications and the manner of assessment of these marks for the respective qualifications of the petitioner and the 3rd respondent, cost the petitioner dearly to lose the candidature.
(2.) The focus for adjudication is whether a Post-Graduate qualification in M. Pharmacy would qualify for treatment as a professional course in a technical subject. If it did, the marks assigned ought to have been 15 but if it was not a professional course in a technical education, then the marks of 12 awarded to the petitioner taking him to be merely a Post-Graduate was appropriate and the choice of the 3rd respondent would have been correct. The petitioner points out that in a communication sent to the All India Council for Technical Education, the Regional Officer had clarified that B. Pharmacy and M. Pharmacy are technical educational qualifications. To an information sought for with the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Punjab University, Chandigarh, in the communication dated 24.05.2010, it has also clarified that B. Pharmacy is a technical professional course regulated both by AICTE and Pharmacy Council of India. A certificate was also issued by the Chairman of the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences that the B. Pharmacy Course is a four year decree course imparted after 10+2 and was covered under the Engineering and Technology subject and the Course was regulated by All India Council of Education norms. The letter also gives information that the Master of Pharmacy is a two years Post-Graduate Course after B. Pharmacy.
(3.) Learned counsel appearing for the Indian Oil Corporation as well as the candidate, who had been selected would argue that at the relevant time, when the petitioner had completed the B. Pharmacy, it was only three years course and the requirement for professional course was that it should be a course equivalent to a minimum four years course post 12th standard. It is also contended that the requirement in the brochure gives out the category of course, which would qualify for being treated as a professional course and the actual specifications are ''Technical/Law/Medical/Management Graduate/Chartered/Cost Accountant or higher qualification (BE, B.Tech, MBA, CA or equivalent, minimum 4 years post 12th standard).'' As regards the contention that the professional courses must be for a minimum period of four years post 12th standard, the candidate has no doubt gone through a course after 12th standard at a time when it was less than four years. It would be worthwhile to notice that in this case he has done Post-Graduate Course and at the relevant time when his application came for consideration, he surely had a qualification, which was more than 4 years after his 12th standard. The only issue would be whether it is Professional Course and it was technical education. It can be noticed that the categories mentioned (BE, B.Tech, MBA, CA or equivalent) are not exhaustive, but, they are merely illustrative of the nature of a technical education. This is seen from the fact that although the categories includes Law and Medicine as well while referring to the degrees, there is no reference at All to LLB or MBBS in parenthesis. When a reference is merely a technical education, B. Pharmacy and M. Pharmacy are courses, which are recognized by the All India Council of Technical Education. That itself would be sufficient to show that it is a technical education in professional course. He ought to have been, therefore, awarded 15 marks. It is not now in denial that if he had been awarded 15 marks instead of 12 marks, the petitioner would secure a tally of 99.75 against 98.6, which has been awarded to the 3rd respondent. He would definitely, therefore, qualify for being chosen as a successful candidate.;