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TMI Blog1988 (9) TMI 347X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of Executive- Engineers in the Public Works Department of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and would, therefore, require to be declared void. The High Court, in the writ petitions filed by the Diploma-Holders, has held that such differential treatment of Diploma-Holders and Graduates by the prescription of different standards of service-experience for purposes of eligibility for promotion to the higher cadres is unconstitutional. 2. The D.D.A. which is the appellant in Civil Appeals No.898 of 1988 and No. 899 of 1988 assails the correctness of the view taken by the High Court. Civil Appeals No. 896 of 1988 and 897 of 1988 are by the Graduate-Engineers who were respondents before the High Court and who are, similarly, aggrieved by the decision under appeal SLP 6181 of 1988 is by the DDA Graduate Engineers Association which seeks to espouse the cause of the Graduate-Engineers. We grant Special Leave in SLP. All the five appeals are heard and disposed of by this common judgment. PG NO 258 C.A.899 of 1988, C.A. 896 of 1988 and SLP 6181 arise out of C.W.P. 2132 of 1984. C.A. 898 of 1988, C.A. 897 of 1988 arise out of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ars 1984 the Diploma-Holder in the cadre of Junior-Engineers and in he cadre of Asst. Engineers sought to assail, by means of two writ-petitions presented to the Delhi High Court, the Constitutional validity of the prescriptions made by the rules in the matter of requirement of differential service-experiences between the Graduates and Diploma-Holders for promotion to the higher cadres viz. of Asst. Engineers and Executive-Engineers respectively. They also assailed the promotions of Graduate-Engineers to the higher cadres made on the strength of the Rules. CWP. 2132 of 1984 pertained to the resolution No. 574 dated 13.11.1963 adopting the relevant CPWD Rules prescribing 3 years' and 8 years' service-experience for Graduates and Diploma-Holders respectively and the discrimination thus brought about between them. CWP No. 2082 of 1984 pertained to the contitutionality of the analogous provisions in the rules adopted by resolution No. 105 dated 16.6.1971. PG NO 260 The High Court heard these two petitions together and by its common judgment dated 2.9.1987 upheld the challenge and declared the different standards of service-experience prescribed for Degree-Holders and Dipl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ification for promotion. It could be that for reasons of efficiency in administration the authorities may lay down that diploma holders are not at all eligible for promotion to the higher post and such a bar can be upheld in view of the ratio laid down in the case of Triloki Nath Khosa but after the authorities considered them eligible for promotion there could be no rationale in their making any distinction between the degree-holders and diploma-holders for granting promotion to them to the higher post.... (Emphasis Supplied) The point of distinction, as apprehended by the High Court, is that in the present case a Diploma, ipso-facto, qualifies for promotion. The real question is whether this assumption is correct and whether the relevant Rules determine the eligibility for promotion on the basis of a Diploma, or for that matter even a Degree, Or whether the eligibility for promotion is determined not with reference merely to the educational attainments but on the basis of educational qualifications plus a measure of service- experience, stipulated differently for Graduates and Diploma-Holders. 6. Learned counsel for the appellants, contended that the view that commended i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt-diploma-holders, while seeking to support the judgment of the High Court urged that this Court had, more than once, cautioned against undue accent, in the matter of promotional opportunities, on academic qualification alone which might lead to elitist preferences and tend to obscure the egalitarian principle and social-justice. It was, therefore, contended that the effect of the distinction, in the ultimate analysis, is really an imperceptible extension or magnification of insubstantial factors sub-verting the precious guarantee of equality. Sri Gujral, learned Senior Counsel, sought to impart to the situation a dimension of social-justice and made an impassioned plea that to discriminate between Diploma-Holders and Graduates who belong to the same cadre and hold inter-changeable posts, both in the present-cadre and in the prospective promotional posts, on the mere lack of some higher academic attainment is to place a high premium on those social and economic ills of the society which rendered the further academic pursuits for the economically disadvantaged difficult. 7. A large number of authorities were cited on either side. We by first examine the cases relied upon by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ....What is meant by equality in this Article is, equality amongst equals. It does not provide for an absolute equality of treatment to all persons in utter disregard PG NO 264 in every conceivable circumstance of the differences such as age, sex, education and so on and so forth as may be found amongst people in general. Indeed, while the aim of this Article is to ensure that invidious distinction or arbitrary discrimination shall not be made by the State between a citizen and a citizen who answer the same description and the differences which may obtain between them are of no relevance for the purpose of applying a particular law reasonable classification is permissible. It does not mean anything more. But then the process of classification is in itself productive of inequality and in that sense antithetical of equality. The process would be constitutionally valid if it recognises a pre-existing inequality and acts in aid of amelioration of the effects of such pre-existent inequality. But the process cannot in itself generate or aggravate the inequality. The process cannot merely blow-up or magnify in- substantial or microscopic differences on merely meretricious or plausible ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the differences in the educational qualifications. It must be remembered that life has relations not capable always of division into inflexible compartments . The moulds expand and shrink. The test of reasonable classification has to be applied in each ease on its peculiar facts and circumstances ........ (Emphasis Supplied) This echoes what Vivian Bose, J. had earlier said in Bidi ,Supply Co. v. Union of lndia [1956] SCR 182: Article 14 sets out, to my mind, an attitude of mind,a way of life. rather than a precise rule of law ...... .In a given case that it falls this side of the line or that and because of that decisions on the same point will vary as conditions vary, one conclusion in one part of the country and another somewhere else; one decision today and another tomorrow when the basis of society has altered and the structure of current social thinking is different. It is not the law that alters but the changing conditions of the times and Article t4 narrows down to a question of fact which must be determined by the highest Judges in the land as each ease arises..... Shujat Ali's ease itself recognised the permissibility and validity of such classific ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... about in the matter of promotional- opportunities between graduates and non-graduates, based on the differences in the quality of their technical qualifications, were relatable to, and justified on the PG NO 267 basis of, the requirements of the promotional-posts. It is relevant to mention here that the different standards and Conditions for eligibility were prescribed with a view to injecting a higher technical quality in the promotions-cadre based on the recommendations of a committee, called Vaish- Committee , constituted for the purpose. H.C. Sharma's and Punjab State Electricity Board's cases were also matters where Graduates and Diploma-holders were merged into and formed part of a homogenious cadre with equal eligibility for promotion and what fell for consideration was the validity of the further prescription of quotas between them. Here-again, no question of the validity of the different standards prescribed for the very eligibility for promotion fell for consideration. The present cases, however, are those where, havig regard to the requirements of the promotional-posts, different conditions of eligibility for promotion on the differences based on the educational ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... If Diploma-Holders-of course on the justification of the job-requirements and in the interest of maintaining a certain quality of technical expertise in the cadre-could validly be excluded from the eligibility for promotion to the higher cadre, it does not necessarily follow as an inevitable corollary that the choice of the recruitment policy is limited only two choices, namely either to consider them eligible or not eligible . State, consistent with the requirements of the promotional-posts and in the interest of the efficiency of the service, is not precluded from conferring eligibility on Diploma-Holders conditioning it by other requirements which may, as here, include certain quantum of service-experience. In the present case, eligibility-determination was made by a cumulative-criterion of a certain educational qualification plus a particular quantum of service experience. It cannot, in our opinion, be said, as postulated by the High Court, that the choice of the State was either to recognise Diploma-Holders as eligible for promotion or wholly exclude them as not-eligible . If the educational qualification by itself was recognised as conferring eligibility for promotion, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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