- (1.) Petitioners have approached this Court praying for a writ of mandamus to treat the candidates, who had passed their diploma from the Institute of Public Health and Hygiene, Mahipalpur, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as 'the Institute, New Delhi'), as eligible for appointment to the post of Laboratory Technician in pursuance to advertisement Nos. 1/2006 and 1/2008 with a further direction to the respondents to recognize the said diploma in the State of Haryana.
(2.) It is the contention of the counsel for the petitioners that the petitioners have obtained their diploma in Laboratory Technician from the Institute, New Delhi. This diploma is recognized by various States. Even some candidates, who had obtained the diploma, stand appointed in the State of Haryana. One of the said instances is that of Anil Kumar, who had passed the diploma course in Medical Laboratory Technician and was appointed in response to an advertisement No. 3 of 1998. His further submission is that the petitioners have been denied consideration on the ground of they being not eligible on the basis of a communication received from the Director, Technical Education Department, Government of Haryana, Chandigarh, dated 05.05.2006 (Annexure R-2), wherein the name of the institute, from where the petitioners have obtained their diploma, does not find mention. He contends that the diploma obtained from this institute can only be said to be not recognized after 05.05.2006 and the persons, who have obtained diploma prior to this date, will have to be treated as eligible. He places reliance upon a Division Bench judgment of this Court passed in the case of Balbir Singh v. State of Haryana, 2002 2 SCT 290, to contend that the diploma possessed by the petitioners shall automatically be recognized in the State of Haryana. Counsel for the petitioners further states that one of the petitioners i.e. petitioner No. 14, namely, Ram Pal Singh, who had also obtained the diploma from the Institute, New Delhi, has been appointed to the post of Laboratory Technician and he had, in pursuance to the same advertisement, applied for the said post. He, on this basis, contends that the present writ petition deserves to be allowed.
(3.) On the other hand, counsel for the respondents submits that there is no decision placed on record nor has it been stated in the reply filed by the respondents that diploma obtained from the Institute, New Delhi, has been ever recognized by the State of Haryana. He contends that in the absence of the said decision by the State of Haryana, the claim of the petitioners does not survive and the contention of the counsel for the petitioners that the diploma has been de-recognized by the communication dated 05.05.2006 issued by the Director, Technical Education Department, Government of Haryana, Chandigarh, is incorrect. As a matter of fact, that communication only gives the details of the institutes, which have been recognized. The judgment relied upon by the counsel for the petitioners in Balbir Singh's case deals with a situation where a diploma is earlier recognized and by a specific decision, the same is de-recognized subsequently. With regard to the appointment of Anil Kumar, it is stated that he was appointed in pursuance to an advertisement No. 3 of 1998 when the qualification required for appointment to the post of Laboratory Technician was Matric with Science (Physics and Chemistry), Diploma in Laboratory Technician Course from Public Health Laboratory Karnal or any other institution and knowledge of Hindi/Sanskrit up to Matric Standard. At that time, there was no condition with regard to the diploma being recognized by the State of Haryana. As regards the selection and appointment of Ram Pal Singh (petitioner No. 14), he contends that this petitioner possessed Bachelor of Science (M.L.T.) degree from Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar after passing his Medical Laboratory Technician Diploma from the Institute, New Delhi. Since he was possessing a qualification higher than the minimum prescribed, the selection and appointment of petitioner No. 14 is in accordance with law. Prayer is, accordingly, made for dismissal of the writ petition.;