Image credits - Hindustan Times
The Supreme Court of India has reaffirmed that a B.Sc (Polymer Chemistry) degree does not equate to a B.Sc (Chemistry) for recruitment to the post of High School Teacher for Physical Science. The Court’s ruling supports the Kerala High Court’s earlier judgment, following a long-standing dispute over qualification equivalency.
The case originated from a 2008 recruitment notification issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC), which specified that candidates needed a B.Ed degree in Physical Science and a B.Sc in Physics, Chemistry, or Home Science to qualify for the High School Assistant (Physical Science) position. The appellant, holding a B.Sc (Polymer Chemistry) and a B.Ed (Physical Science), was excluded from the merit list as her qualification did not meet the criteria.
Despite presenting a certificate from Calicut University claiming that a B.Sc (Polymer Chemistry) was equivalent to a B.Sc (Chemistry), the KPSC did not accept it. The appellant’s subsequent challenges in the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) and Kerala High Court were rejected.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court, with Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta on the Bench, upheld the lower court’s decisions. The Court referenced the precedent set in the 2019 case Zahoor Ahmad Rather v. Sheikh Imtiyaz Ahmad, which established that judicial review cannot alter or expand the scope of prescribed qualifications or determine equivalency beyond the established criteria.
The ruling underscores the authority of recruiting bodies to define and enforce qualification standards and highlights the limitations of judicial review in such matters.