CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has declined to interfere in the matter of minimum qualification fixed by the state government for appointment to the posts of Junior Fisheries Technical Assistant (JFTA).
The division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice MS Raman said the courts are not fit instruments to assess expediency or advisability or utility of such prescription of qualifications.
“A greater latitude is permitted by the courts for the employer to prescribe qualifications for any post as the qualifications are prescribed keeping in view the need and interest of an institution or an industry or an establishment as the case may be,” the bench said on October 30.
The Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) had prescribed the minimum educational qualification while inviting applications for the posts of JFTA in 2021. For appointment to the posts of JFTA, the candidates must have possessed +2 Vocational (Fisheries) from CHSE/university and must know swimming well. Provided that when candidates possessing +2 Vocational (Fisheries) qualification are not available, candidates with +2 Science qualification will be eligible.
Roshan Kumar Baral and 14 others with diploma qualification in Fisheries Science from Agro-Polytechnic Centre, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar filed a petition in 2022 and took the stand that since they are diploma holders, they should be given preference over candidates possessing +2 Vocational (Fisheries) as it is a higher qualification.
However, the bench dismissed the petition saying, “The qualification prescribed as the minimum educational qualification for appointment to the posts of JFTA does not require interference by this court exercising writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India as the petitioners have not been able to demonstrate that the said prescription is in violation of any constitutional or legal provision.”
The bench added, “Further, the state is entrusted with the authority to assess the needs of its public services. The exigencies of administration fall within the domain of administrative decision-making. The state as a public employer may well consider social perspectives that require creation of job opportunities across the societal structure.”