Assistant Engineer Will Become Junior Engineer In Karnataka

Assistant Engineer will become Junior Engineer on the orders of Karnataka High Court, know what is the whole matter.

An Assistant Engineer, who has lost his job due to the invalidation of his B.Tech degree in distance education, will now become a Junior Engineer due to a decision of the Karnataka High Court.

Engineer Devraj KR also held a Diploma in Civil Engineering and since he had served for five years in an agency of the Government of Karnataka.

The High Court ordered that he should be considered for re-appointment to a post which is B.Tech. Be commensurate with a diploma instead of a degree.

Devraj had applied for a backlog post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB).

He was appointed through direct recruitment in July 2016.

However, in September 2019, the Managing Director of KUWSDB issued a show-cause notice to Devraj, as his Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree from the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU).

As KSOU was not approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The submissions made by Devraj in response to the show-cause notice were rejected and an order dated July 13, 2021, disqualified him for the post of Assistant Engineer.

The Karnataka government had decided that KSOU certificates would be valid across the state.

Devraj filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court against the decision to remove himself from the job.

It argued that though the University Grants Commission (UGC) had declared the KSOU certificates issued up to 2012-13 invalid.

The Karnataka government later decided that the KSOU certificates would be valid throughout the state.

Devraj’s counsel submitted that his client has a degree in B.Tech acquired through distance education besides a diploma in civil engineering.

Since Devraj has already served for five years, he should be allowed to continue the job.

Justice R Devdas in his judgment ordered the appointment of Devraj to the post of Junior Engineer on the basis of a Diploma in Civil Engineering.

He said that the appointment would be considered as starting from the date of his original appointment with Devraj.