The Uttarakhand High Court has held that only candidates with a Diploma in Pharmacy (D.Pharm) are eligible for recruitment to pharmacist posts in the state, ruling out the eligibility of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) degree holders under the existing service rules.
A single-judge bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani clarified that determining recruitment criteria lies within the domain of policy decisions. Until the state government amends the relevant service rules, only D.Pharm holders registered with the State Pharmacy Council will be considered eligible for pharmacist appointments.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Om Prakash, Vinod Kumar, Pankaj Mohan Dhyani and several other B.Pharm graduates who argued that since they possessed a higher qualification, they should be permitted to apply for the post. The petitioners also claimed that the state government had earlier assured them that B.Pharm degrees would be recognised for recruitment purposes.
However, the bench dismissed the petitions, noting that no amendments have been made to the service rules to include B.Pharm as an eligible qualification. The court remarked that while B.Pharm holders may benefit if changes are made in the future, under the current legal framework they cannot claim eligibility.
