Rooh-ul-Amin Khan, J.--The legal question before this larger bench to settle is, whether "Inter Grade Drawing Examination (IDE) Certificate" issued the Controller Inspector of Drawing Grade Examinations for Sindh Directorate of Schools Education, Hayderabad is equivalent to "Drawing Mater (DM) one year Certificate" of Registrar Departmental Examination (RDE), Peshawar. There are two conflicting views of this Court on equivalency of DM Certificates of the aforesaid two Institutions. The first view has been expressed in the judgments rendered in case titled, "Khaista Rehman and others us EDO and others" (2013 PLC (CS) 142) and in Writ Petition No, 2004-P/2016 in case titled, "Naveed Sarwar vs. Secretary Gout of KPK, Elementary & Secondary Education Department and others" -dated 19.01.2017, wherein it has been held that certificates of Drawing Master issued by the recognized Institutes of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are having the same status, thus discrimination between the certificates of these Institutions was strictly deprecated.
The second view has been formed by this Court in a judgment dated 25.04.2017, rendered in Writ Petition No, 3422P/2016 titled, "Nadeem Khan vs. Govt of KPK through Chief Secretary, Peshawar and others" wherein Drawing Master Certificates issued by Sindh Directorate of Schools Education, Hayderabad, has been held as not equivalent to "Drawing Mater (DM) one year Certificate" of Registrar Departmental Examination (RDE), Peshawar.
2. In the first set of judgments, this. Court has dealt with the question under consideration exhaustively. In case titled, "Khaista Rehman and other vs. EDO and others" (2013 PLC (CS) 142), this Court arrived at the following conclusion: "In the present case, the D.M certificates qualify from all corners as genuine certificate issued by the recognized institution, which was the required for the recruitment policy as mentioned above.
We have gone through the merit list which clearly indicates that the petitioners have been deprived on lame excuse on the ground of delaying tactics regarding the verification of DM Certificate obtained by the petitioners. It was also pointed out that respondents in subsequent appointment had also appointed other candidates who had obtained D.M certificate from the same institutions whereas petitioners have been deprived though they have also qualified from the same institutions, hence, act of respondents is discriminatory and is utter violation of Article 25 of the Constitution. Instead of petitioners who were at better pedestal in the merit list the other candidates who were below at the merit list as compared to the petitioners have been appointed which apparently shows mala fide on the part of respondents. After thrashing the entire record, we have come to the conclusion that petitioners have wrongly been deprived for appointment against the posts of DM which requires interference by this Court."
3.The judgment (supra) was assailed by the Executive District Officer, Schools & Literacy District Dir Lower etc in Civil Petitions No, 456-P/12, 7-P to 11-P/2013 and 19-P & 20-P/2013, before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the worthy apex Court, vide order dated 21.06.2013, maintaining the judgment of this Court ruled as under: "We find no merits in these petitions as apparently no reasonable classification exists between the qualifications obtained from the said institutions and from those in Province of KPK since the respondents selection was made way back in the year 2007 and six years have passed,, we had therefore directed the petitioners to issue appointment orders of the respondents. Today the said orders have been produced before us. The respondents except for one Lazim Khan, in Civil Petition No, 07-P of 2013, has been duly appointed. Learned Law Officer states that the said respondent shall also be appointed in due course after his papers are found in order. These petitions have no merits and therefore, dismissed".
4. This Court while following the ratio of judgments (supra) of this Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Court, re-affirmed its earlier view in its ,subsequent judgment dated 19.01.2017, rendered m Writ Petition No, 2004-P/2016, titled, "Naveed Sarwar vs. Secretary Govt of KPK Elementary & Secondary Education Department and others". Operative part of the judgment is reproduced below for the sake of convenience and ready reference: "In absence of any law and rules to prove that the IDE Certificate of the petitioner is not equivalent to DM Certificate of any recognized Institutions of the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and anything in black & white to prove the same as fake one, we cannot subscribe the stance of Respondent No,
3. The petitioner has brought on record Notification/appointment order bearing Endst No, 218-29/DEO (F) NSR/Estab/Apptt. dated 31.03.2015, issued by the District Education Officer (Female) Nowshera, wherein Miss Saima Gul and Miss Saeeda, having IDE certificates from the same institution of Sindh, have been appointed as DMs, but in District Peshawar, the respondents have declared the certificate of the petitioner to be not equivalent to DM Certificate. It appears from the record that in District Mardan, appointments of Drawing Masters had been made on the basis of same DIE certificates vide appointment order dated 27.03.2015. Subsequently, the appointees were given show cause notices by the competent authority on the basis of same controversy, their salaries were stopped, and they were directed.to approach Respondent No, 2 (Director Elementary & Secondary Education Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar), for resolution of the issue. The matter was resolved by Respondent 'No, 2 and on whose directions, the show-cause notices were withdrawn and the appointments of the aforesaid appointees were held legal on the basis of IDE certificates. Identical situation was faced by the Agency Education Officer Bajaur, who referred the matter to Director Directorate of Schools Education Hyderabad, Sindh, and he vide letter dated 17.08.2015, besides verifying the certificates clarified that IDE Directorate of Schools Education Sindh is a Government recognized institution.
It is a matter of paramount importance that the recognized Institutions in a country must be treated at par with each other failing which the importance of recognition loses the very significance. The discrimination involved in the instant case, indirectly affects the very incidence of recognition of certain Institutions which are otherwise recognized by the Government as well as by the University Grants Commissions. The preferential treatment meted out to the petitioner does not conform to any norms of either logic or any principle of reasonable differentia. It is worth to mention here that such like controversy has also been resolved by this Court in case titled, "Baber Elahi etc vs Director of Education Primary School NWFP, Peshawar etc", (NLR 2001 Service 14), where the act of the Education Department, giving preference to candidates having their Primary Teaching Certificates (PTC) from Elementary Colleges of NWFP over the candidates having their PTC from other Institutions of the Provinces of the country has been strongly condemned and such discrimination or policy has been held to be in violation of equal protection of law guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution.
In light of the judgments of the august Supreme Court and this Court, referred above, we allow this petition and issue a writ to the respondents to consider the petitioner against the post of D.M.
5. As regards the view taken by this Court in judgment dated 25.04.2017, rendered m Writ Petition No, 3422-P/2016, titled, "Nadeem Khan vs. Govt of KPK through Chief Secretary, Peshawar and others", respectfully speaking, due to lack of proper assistance and by not brining the aforesaid judgments of this Court and hon'ble Apex Court, this Court reached to wrong conclusion by holding DM Certificates of Sindh Directorate of Schools Education Hayderabad as not equivalent to RDE, Peshawar.
6. Adverting to the case of petitioner in the instant writ petition. His grievance is that he having a Master degree in English coupled with Inter Grade Drawing Certificate from Sindh Directorate of Schools and Educations, Hyderabad, applied for his appointment against one of the vacant post of DMs BPS-15, advertised by the respondents and after qualifying competitive test conducted by the NTS, was placed at Serial No, 3 of the merit-list, but was denied appointment by the respondents on the sole ground of he having his DM Certificate from Sindh Directorate of Schools and Educations Hyderabad, resultantly, Respondents No: 5 to 7, who were low in merit from the petitioner were appointed, hence, this writ petition.
7. Respondents have filed their para-wise comments wherein it has been asserted that since the petitioner has done his Drawing Master (DM) certificate from Sindh which is not equivalent to' one year DM certificate of KPK Directorate of Curriculum Teaching in Education (DCTE);
8. Arguments of learned counsel for the parties heard and record perused with their able assistance.
9. Admittedly, the respondents have not denied merit position of the petitioner against the vacant post of DM advertized by them: The only ground on the basis of which he has been denied appointment A against the post of DM is his DM Certificate from Sindh Directorate which according to the respondents is not equivalent to DM one year Certificate of. the Directorate of Curriculum and Teacher Education Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As discussed above, the controversy with regard to equivalency of Certificates issued by IDLE Sindh and RDE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been dealt with by this Court exhaustively in the judgments (supra), and it has been held that DM Certificates issued by the recognized Institutions of Sindh and Khyber Pakhthunwa are having the same status, as there is no law and rules to prove that certificates of both the Institutions are not equivalent. Rather, this Court while taking serious notice of deplorable conduct of the respondents due to not honouring the judgments (supra) of the apex Court and this Court, in its judgment dated 19.01.2017 in Writ petition No, 2004-P/2016, titled, "Naveed Sarwar vs. Secretary of Gout of KPK, Elementary and Secondary Education Department and others" observed as under:-- "Before parting with the judgment, we deem it appropriate to mention here that this Court has taken serious notice of the deplorable conduct of the respondents, who are not honourifig the judgments of the apex Court and this Court, wherein present controversy has already been resolved and by compelling the needy and poor people to approach the Court again and again increase their agonies, waste their precious time and deprive them from their hard earned money.
Copy of this judgment be sent to the Secretary Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary & Secondary Education Department, Peshawar, for looking into the matter and taking action against the delinquent who failed to honour the judgment of the august apex Court and this Court, with intimation to this Court through the Additional Registrar (Judicial) of this Court."
10. For the reasons discussed above, this writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to consider appointment of the petitioner against one of the vacant posts of DMs without disturbing Respondents No, 5 to 7, as according to the of learned AAG, made at the bar some substantive posts of DMs are still lying vacant in the respondents' department.