Uttarakhand HC directs UKPSC to include three-year diploma holders in sugarcane supervisor selection

NEW DELHI: The Uttarakhand High Court ruled that candidates with a three-year diploma in agricultural engineering are eligible for sugarcane supervisor posts, setting aside the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission's decision and ordering the declaration of results. A division bench of Chief Justice G. Narendra and Justice Subhash Upadhyay, hearing a special appeal, set aside the September 1 order of a single bench and directed the (UKPSC) to immediately declare the appellants' results.

The case stemmed from a 2022 advertisement by the UKPSC for 78 sugarcane supervisor posts, which was withdrawn and later resumed in 2023. The new advertisement required a two-year diploma in agriculture.

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Government clarifies eligibility of three-year diplomas

However, candidates with three-year agricultural engineering diplomas who appeared for the examination were included in the selection list but disqualified during document verification. The Commission had sought clarification from the government on whether a three-year agricultural engineering diploma could be considered valid.

On November 25, 2023, the Office of the Sugarcane and Sugar Commissioner clarified that both two-year and three-year agricultural diplomas were valid. Subsequently, on December 14, 2023, the Secretary of the Sugarcane Development and Sugar Industry Department instructed the Commission to consider three-year diploma holders eligible and proceed with the selection process.

Despite these clear instructions, the Commission did not amend the advertisement and excluded candidates with three-year diplomas. The Court deemed the Commission's actions arbitrary and unlawful, stating that the recruiting agency could not alter the educational qualifications set by the employing department.