Dismissed¶34

Union of India and Ors. v. Dinesh H Prasad and Ors.

Bombay HC5 Feb 2026WP/7890/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Union of India (Ministry of Defence) v. diploma holders of Institute of Mechanical Engineers; Tribunal order dated 16.10.2019; challenge to letters dated 18.12.2012 and 11.01.2013; AICTE Notification dated 06.12.2012 equivalence cut-off 31.05.2013; enrolment window 16.10.2006 to 31.05.2013; Recruitment Rules; writ petitions dismissed; Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) Through its Chairman v. State of Punjab, 2019 SCC OnLine 1023; WP 7890/2024 and connected writ petitions.

What did the court decide?

The writ petitions filed by the Union of India lack merit and are dismissed; the Tribunal's direction to examine each individual applicant's case does not tie the hands of the Employer. ¶34

Union of India and Ors. vs Dinesh H Prasad and Ors. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

¶34

Issue for consideration

Whether the Tribunal's observation in paragraph no.7 of its order — that the decision in Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) applies to the individual cases — ties the hands of the Employer, and consequently whether the Union of India's writ petitions have merit.

¶27

Court's answer

The writ petitions filed by the Union of India lack merit and are dismissed; the Tribunal's direction to examine each individual applicant's case does not tie the hands of the Employer.

¶34

Ratio / Principle

Paragraph no.7 of the Tribunal's order does not render the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) decision squarely applicable to every individual case: the Tribunal qualified its applicability in light of the AICTE Notification dated 6th December 2012 (equivalence of Institution degrees awarded upto 31st May 2013), directing that each candidate's eligibility be examined with reference to the Recruitment Rules, taking into account the year of the examinations and making an exception for candidates enrolled from 16th October 2006 to 31st May 2013.

¶33

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court (Shree Chandrashekhar, CJ and Gautam A. Ankhad, J.; dated 5th February 2026) dismisses the Union of India's writ petitions challenging a Tribunal order dated 16th October 2019 that directed individual examination of applicants holding diploma degrees from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. The Court holds that the Tribunal's paragraph no.7 direction does not tie the hands of the Employer: the Tribunal qualified the applicability of the decision in Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) Through its Chairman v. State of Punjab, 2019 SCC OnLine 1023, by requiring each candidate's eligibility to be examined with reference to the Recruitment Rules, taking into account the year of the examinations and the AICTE Notification dated 6th December 2012, under which Institution of Mechanical Engineers degrees awarded upto 31st May 2013 (candidates enrolled from 16th October 2006 to 31st May 2013) are equivalent to a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

¶1

903.7890.24-wp.docx

¶2

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

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WRIT PETITION NO.7890 OF 2024

¶4

BASAVRAJ	Union of India
GURAPPA PATIL Digitally signed by BASAVRAJ GURAPPA PATIL Date: 2026.03.05 12:12:00 +0530	Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Dinesh H. Prasad & Ors. .. Respondents
	WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4452 OF 2020
	Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Sonawane Vijay Arvind .. Respondent
	WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4453 OF 2020
	Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Rajesh Shridhar Bandkar .. Respondent
	WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4548 OF 2020
	Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Madane Samiran Sakharam .. Respondent WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4549 OF 2020
	Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs.
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903.7890.24-wp.docx

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Surekha Nitin Sonawane .. Respondent

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WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4550 OF 2020

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Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Deepak Sharma .. Respondent WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4764 OF 2020 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Bais Krishnakant Laxman .. Respondent

¶9

WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.4959 OF 2020

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Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Anil Kumar M. Shikera & Ors. .. Respondents WITH WRIT PETITION NO.4700 OF 2023 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Abhishek Upadhyay .. Respondent WITH WRIT PETITION NO.781 OF 2021 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Kamble Santosh Mohan .. Respondent

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WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.5236 OF 2020

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Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Azharuddin Naziruddin Sayyed & Ors. .. Respondents WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.5338 OF 2021 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Abhijeet Ravindra Pawar .. Respondent WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.5288 OF 2020 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Samaresh Kumar Nayak & Ors. .. Respondents WITH WRIT PETITION (ST) NO.5290 OF 2020 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Ravi Kumar Koli & Ors. .. Respondents WITH WRIT PETITION NO.16059 OF 2022 Union of India Through Secretary to Government of India Ministry of Defence & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs. Tejas Sadanand Jadhav .. Respondent

…

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Mr. Mainak Adhikary i/b. Ms. Anamika Malhotra, Advocates for the Petitioners in all the petitions

¶21

Mr. Vishal Shirke, Advocate for Respondent Nos.1 to 5 in WP/7890/2024

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CORAM : SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, CJ & GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.

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DATE : 5^th FEBRUARY 2026

¶24

P.C. :

¶25

In the original applications filed by the applicants who had diploma degree from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, a challenge to the letters dated 18^th December 2012 and 11^th January 2013 was made primarily relying on the decision in “Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India)”¹ .

¶26

The Tribunal did not examine the eligibility of the individual applicants and disposed of the original applications by an order dated 16^th October 2019 observing that the individual cases shall be examined with reference to the Recruitment Rules and the decision in “Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India)” .

¶27

Aggrieved by the direction of the Tribunal to examine each individual case and pass an order thereon within six weeks, the Union of India has filed these writ petitions. 4. Mr. Mainak Adhikary, the learned counsel for the Union of India submits that the observation of the Tribunal in paragraph no.7 shall tie the hands of the Employer in so far as the said order holds that the decision in “ Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India)” squarely applies to the individual cases.

¶28

In “ Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India)”, the dispute as to

¶29

1 Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) Through its Chairman v. State of Punjab : 2019 SCC OnLine 1023.

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the validity of the certificate awarded by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and its equivalent degree in mechanical engineering fell for consideration before the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Having regard to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Notification dated 6^th December 2012 which clarified that the degree awarded to a candidate upto 31^st May 2013 by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers shall be equivalent to a degree in Mechanical Engineering, the Tribunal has qualified the observations in paragraph no.7 as to the applicability of the decision in “Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India)” and held that the eligibility of the individual candidates shall be examined with reference to the Recruitment Rules. The Tribunal further observed that the Employer shall take into consideration the year in which the examinations were conducted and then make an exception in favour of the candidates who have been enrolled from 16^th October 2006 to 31^st May 2013 which was the cut-off date in the AICTE Notification dated 6^th December 2012.

¶34

Viewed thus, these writ petitions lack merit and, accordingly, dismissed.

¶35

[GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.] [CHIEF JUSTICE]

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Union of India and Ors. v. Dinesh H Prasad and Ors.

Case brief

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Union of India and Ors. v. Dinesh H Prasad and Ors.

Case brief

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