ASHISH KUMAR vs THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE U.P. THROUGH PRINCIPAL SECRETARY — C.A. No. 170 - 171/2018

Case Summary: Ashish Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh Outcome: The Supreme Court allowed both appeals, set aside the High Court's dismissal orders, and directed the State to issue an appointment order to Ashish Kumar for the Psychologist position within two months. Key Issue: Whether the appellant met qualification requirements for a Psychologist post advertised by U.P. Social Welfare Department in 2001. The core dispute was whether "Graduation in Psychology/L.T./B.T.B.Ed." meant alternative qualifications (either/or) or required both together. Decision: The Court found the advertisement used stroke (/) to denote alternative qualifications—a pattern consistent throughout the document. The 1991 statutory recruitment rules listed M.A. in Psychology as the essential qualification with B.Ed. as merely preferential. The appellant, holding B.A. and M.A. in Psychology, satisfied both the advertisement and statutory requirements. Despite being selected and included in the merit list, he was wrongly denied appointment at document verification. The Court held statutory rules override conflicting advertisements and directed his immediate appointment. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.