A person can’t be called an engineer, if they haven’t attended physical classes or training, said the Punjab and Haryana High Court while hearing a petition challenging the promotion of a Haryana Police Housing Corporation (HPHC) employee to the post of executive engineer. The court ruled that the HPHC employee had obtained civil engineering degree through distance education.
A petition was filed asking the court to set aside an HPHC order dated November 18, 2019, whereby Vinod Rawal was promoted to the post of executive engineer (civil), reported The Indian Express.
Ruling in favor of the petition, the bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal said that a person who has obtained an engineering degree through distance mode cannot be assumed to be on a par with someone who has undertaken it through physical mode.
Giving the example of whether a patient would like to be treated by an MBBS doctor who has obtained his degree through distance learning, Justice Garewal added that the function of an engineer was of equal importance and crucial to building the nation’s infrastructure and development.
A person who has not physically attended the classes/course and has not undertaken practical training cannot be said to be an engineer, said the justice.
The court said any incompetence due to lack of knowledge would not only put the precious lives of citizens in danger but also cost the state exchequer dearly. “In the study of engineering, theoretical concepts are taught which are then put into practice through practical training. A person who has not physically attended the classes/course and has not undertaken practical training cannot be said to be an engineer,” Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal reportedly said.
The petitioners argued that the promotion of Rawal to the post of an executive engineer was in violation of Section 6(a) (proviso) of Haryana Service of Engineers, Group-A, Public Works (Building and Roads) Department Act, 2010 which states that a person who has obtained a degree of civil engineering through distance education mode will not be eligible for the promotion.
They argued that the institute from where Rawal had obtained his degree- JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, was not even recognized by UGC and AICTE. The HPHC employee in question here has already retired.
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