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NON-REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3862 OF 2017

[@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 3289 OF 2014 ] NAGALAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION        Appellant(s)

                               VERSUS STATE OF NAGALAND & ORS.                  Respondent(s)

WITH CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3864 OF 2017

[@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 3290 OF 2014 ] J U D G M E N T

KURIAN, J. 1. Leave granted.

2. The short dispute that arises for consideration in  these  two  appeals  is  on  the  essential qualification for the post of Lecturer, Chemistry in the  Higher  Education  Department  in  the  State  of Nagaland.

3. The  prescribed  qualification  is  M.Sc.  in  the subject concerned.  The appellant, in the connected matter, is only M.Sc. in Biochemistry.  It is the contention  of  the  appellants  that  Biochemistry  is Chemistry for all purposes.

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4. We find it difficult to accept the submission. It may be seen from the advertisement itself for Item No. 10, that for the post of Lecturer in Chemistry, what is prescribed is only M.Sc. without any further description.   It  is  a  post  in  the  Department  of Information Technology and Technical Education.  But for  the  post  of  Lecturer  in  Chemistry  in  Higher Education, the prescribed qualification, being M.Sc. in the subject concerned, namely, Chemistry itself, the appellant – Nagaland Public Service Commission is not  right  in  completing  selection  based  on  the opinion sought from the expert that Biochemistry is Chemistry for all purposes.

5. Qualification is something to be prescribed by the State Government, the appointing authority.  The Commission is only to go by the qualification and it cannot improve upon that.  Since the State does not have a case that the appellant possesses the required qualification and rightly so, we find no merit in the appeals, which are, accordingly, dismissed.

6. However, dismissal of the appeals shall not stand in  the  way  of  the  State  Government  amending  the qualification  in  case  of  non-availability  of  the candidates  from  the  same  tribe,  and  making  fresh selection  in  accordance  with  the  new  instructions

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which  are  said  to  have  been  issued  by  the  State Government.

7. In case the appellant is otherwise eligible in terms of the fresh instructions issued by the State Government and in view of the mandatory reservation, we make it clear that it will be open to the State Government to relax the age of the appellant for the purpose of application.

No costs.   .......................J.

             [ KURIAN JOSEPH ]  

.......................J.               [ R. BANUMATHI ]  

New Delhi; March 09, 2017.