Supreme Court holds 'degree' in FSO rules covers Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate in specified subjects; allows disqualified candidates to rejoin process

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard an appeal by candidates who were disqualified from recruitment for appointment as Food Safety Officers (FSOs) by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC). The appeal challenged concurrent orders of the Jharkhand High Court which had upheld the State’s view that the term “degree” in the recruitment advertisement and the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Rules meant only a graduate degree for certain specified subjects, and that the appellants’ master’s degrees did not meet the eligibility criteria.

The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the judgments of the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court and held that the statutory scheme and rules must be read to include higher degrees where the term “degree” was used without express limitation. The Court emphasised that the power to prescribe qualifications for FSOs lay with the Central Government under Sections 37 and 91 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and that State rules could not transgress that domain. The Court, in its reasoning, observed: “Hence, we have no hesitation in concluding that if a candidate, having undertaken a degree course in ‘Chemistry’ subject, desires to apply for the post of FSO, he must possess a master’s degree in that subject. However, if a candidate has taken college education in the subjects of food technology; dairy technology; biotechnology; oil technology; agricultural science; veterinary science; biochemistry or microbiology, then such a candidate would be qualified for the FSO post, if he holds any one of the degrees, i.e., either graduation, post-graduation or doctorate degree in any of these subjects.” The Court further quoted the statutory mandate: “the prescription of qualification for the post of FSO is to be made by the Commissioner of Food Safety, and the candidates should be having the qualification ‘prescribed by the Central Government for such post.’”

Background The appellants held post‑graduate degrees in Microbiology and Food Science & Technology and applied to Advertisement No. 01/2016 issued by JPSC pursuant to a 2015 notification. They qualified in the written examination and were called for interviews but were subsequently disqualified on the ground that the advertisement required a graduate degree in the listed subjects and that a master’s degree in those subjects did not satisfy the prescribed qualification. The appellants’ writ petition before the Jharkhand High Court was dismissed by the Single Judge on 30 June 2020, and an intra‑court appeal was dismissed by the Division Bench on 2 August 2023. The UGC filed affidavits indicating the term “degree” included bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees, and the Central Government later amended the FSS Rules in 2022 to expressly provide that “Bachelor’s Degree or a Master’s Degree or a Doctorate Degree” in the listed subjects would qualify for FSO posts.

The Supreme Court analysed Sections 37, 91 and 94 of the FSS Act and the FSS Rules, 2011 (as adopted by the State). It held that the State could not construe “degree” restrictively where the Central rules did not do so and that the special reference to a master’s degree for Chemistry did not imply exclusion of master’s degrees in the other listed subjects. The Court quashed the High Court orders and directed that the appellants be allowed to rejoin the recruitment process at the interview stage. Where vacancies no longer existed in the 2016 process, the Court directed that supernumerary posts be created to accommodate successful appellants; successful appellants would be appointed effective from the date of publication of the first select list in 2016, would be placed below the last selected candidate for seniority purposes, would not be entitled to back wages but would receive service benefits on a notional basis. Pending applications stood disposed of.

Case Details: Case No.: Civil Appeal No. 10389 of 2024 (2025 INSC 372) Case Title: Chandra Shekhar Singh and Others v. The State of Jharkhand and Others Appearances: For the Petitioner(s): Not indicated in the judgment For the Respondent(s): Not indicated in the judgment