ITI, not engineering, mandatory for Punjab lineman jobs, rules high court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited’s (PSTCL’s) recruitment advertisement that restricts eligibility for certain technical posts to candidates holding ITI qualifications.

Justice Harpreet Singh Brar upheld PSTCL’s requirement of a full-time, regular ITI certificate in the electrician or wireman trade from a recognised institution for recruitment to 350 assistant lineman and 150 assistant sub-station attendant posts, holding that the condition does not violate constitutional guarantees.

The petitions were filed by engineering graduates who sought to quash the advertisement, CRA-11/2021 dated May 18, 2021, to the extent that it barred degree and diploma holders in electrical engineering from applying. They contended that higher qualifications in the same field ought to be treated as sufficient and argued that the online application portal rejected their forms as it did not provide an option other than a two-year ITI course.

Appearing for the petitioners, counsel argued that the exclusion of engineering graduates was arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, relying on several Supreme Court and High Court judgments to contend that a higher qualification could not be excluded where the minimum qualification was met.

PSTCL, however, maintained that an employer is entitled to prescribe eligibility conditions based on the nature of duties involved. Its counsel argued that the recruitment advertisement did not provide for any equivalence between ITI certification and engineering degrees and that courts could not read such equivalence into the terms of recruitment.

Agreeing with the respondent, the court noted that the advertisement clearly stipulated Punjabi at matriculation level along with a full-time ITI certificate in the electrician or wireman trade. It held that in the absence of statutory rules or expert determination recognising equivalence, the court could not substitute its own assessment.

Justice Brar said the very nomenclature of ITI certification and diploma or degree courses in electrical engineering indicated that their syllabi and training focus were distinct, adding that ITI courses are designed to impart hands-on skills directly relevant to the posts in question.

He added, “.. it is settled law that the employer is always the best judge to assess suitability of a candidate and lay down eligibility criteria for a particular post. As such, when the advertisement qua the same is clear and within the legal framework, this Court cannot step into the shoes of the employer or a domain expert and expand the scope of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to declare equivalence of an ITI certificate in the trade of ElectricianWireman to diplomas/degrees in Engineering.”

The court concluded that the condition requiring an ITI certificate for appointment as an assistant lineman or assistant sub-station attendant did not infringe the rights of the petitioners and dismissed all the petitions.

The petitioners were represented by senior advocates D S Patwalia and Vikas Chatrath, among others.

Manraj Grewal Sharma is a senior journalist and the Resident Editor Read More