A.K. Raghumani Singh & Ors vs Gopal Chandra Nath & Ors

The Supreme Court held that the eligibility criteria for promotion to the post of Superintending Engineer under The Manipur P.W.D./Irrigation and Flood Control/Public Health Engineering (Superintending Engineer (Civil)/Superintending Surveyor of Works) Recruitment Rules, 1977, do not require the six years of service to be completed after obtaining the educational qualification. The Court interpreted the word 'with' in the context of the eligibility criteria, establishing that it requires both the educational qualification and the requisite service period to be fulfilled independently. The Court upheld the decision of the learned Single Judge allowing the promotion of the respondent No. 1, confirming his eligibility based on his total service period.