Hyderabad: The Supreme Court has dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by 13 BTech graduates challenging a Telangana High Court judgment that declared them ineligible for recruitment to 474 posts of Mandal Planning and Statistical Officer (MPSO) and Assistant Statistical Officer (ASO) in the state.
A Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi passed the order on Monday, July 13, upholding the High Court’s February 17 judgment.
The petitioners had qualified in the recruitment examination conducted on September 3, 2018, pursuant to a notification issued on June 2, 2018, and were shortlisted for certificate verification. They challenged their disqualification from the recruitment process, contending that they met the prescribed educational qualifications.
Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu argued that the recruitment rules framed during the erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh permitted BTech (Computer Science) graduates who had studied Statistics for one academic year to apply for the posts, even if they did not possess a bachelor’s degree in Statistics.
Bench disagrees with petitioners’ arguments
However, the Bench disagreed with the contention. Justice Manoj Misra observed that the applicable recruitment rules require candidates to have studied Statistics as part of their academic curriculum for one, two or three years, depending on the qualification prescribed.
The court noted that the petitioners had completed only a six-month Statistics course and therefore did not satisfy the eligibility criteria.
Holding that the candidates did not possess the requisite qualification under the recruitment rules, the Supreme Court dismissed the SLP, effectively affirming the Telangana High Court’s ruling that BTech graduates with only a six-month Statistics course are ineligible for appointment to the 474 MPSO and ASO posts.
