Mandatory Requirement Of Experience With Govt. For PSU Law Officer Job Not Arbitrary: Delhi HC [Read Order]

The Delhi High Court last week ruled that the mandatory requirement of one year experience as Law Officer with Government / Semi Government/ Public Sector Undertaking/ Nationalized Banks/ Listed Companies on NSE/BSE cannot be considered the arbitrary denial of equal opportunity.

Justice Sunil Gaur explained, "...experience in the above-said Forums facilitates the effective functioning of Law Officers in the respondent-Organization. It is not that lawyers are completed excluded. As per the Advertisement, further experience as a lawyer or of working in reputed Law Firms, etc., is desirable. So, it cannot be said that there is any hostile discrimination by requiring one year's mandatory experience in the afore-referred Forums/Organizations."

The Court was hearing a Petition filed by one Mr. Pratyush Anand Mishra, challenging an advertisement by a public sector undertaking for recruitment of Law Officer (E1Grade) through CLAT, 2018 (PG Exam Scores). The advertisement required that a candidate should have a Bachelor's Degree in Law and one year's post-qualification experience as an Executive/Officer in the Legal set up of the Government / Semi Government/ Public Sector Undertaking/ Nationalized Banks/ Listed Companies on NSE/BSE.

The Petitioner had submitted that even lawyers with experience elsewhere ought to be considered eligible for the post. He had further asserted that such requirement cannot be made mandatory and that others cannot be precluded from applying for the post.

The Court, however, ruled that the requirement was not arbitrary and opined that it was not for it to examine the relevance of qualifications prescribed for any post. It observed, "It is essentially a policy matter and it is up to the employer to prescribe qualifications, whether mandatory or otherwise."

Read the Order Here