JUDGMENT 1. - The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking a direction against respondents No. 1 and 2 to consider her to be eligible for appointment on the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) and challenging the provisions of the schedule appended to the Rajasthan Technical Education Service Rules, 1973, to the extent it provides for acquiring the minimum two years' professional/teaching experience after passing of the graduation in Second Division and restraining respondent No. 2, Rajasthan Public Service Commission from rejecting her application for the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) only on the ground that she did not acquire two years' professional experience in the aforesaid speciality after passing her graduation examination in IInd Division. 2. The petitioner has come with the case that she holds the degree of BA and Three-Year Diploma Course in Textile Designing, which she had obtained as a regular student of Women Polytechnic College, Jaipur in the year 1984. After obtaining the aforesaid diploma she was appointed as Surveyor (Documentation)/Textile Designer in the National Craft Institute for Hand Printed Textile Rangatantra, Jaipur. She worked there as Textile Designer for the period from 1st January, 1985 to 17th February, 1986, as per the certificate Ex.l. She was then appointed as Textile designer and worked with Sales India, a textile concern. She worked in Sales India for the period from 1st March, 1986 to 30th June, 1987, as per Ex. 2. She was then appointed as part-time Lecturer (Textile Designing) at Government Women Polytechnic College, Udaipur, where she worked for the period from July 1987 to November, 1987 and July, 1988 to September, 1988, as per Ex. 3. She has further stated that finally she had passed graduation in Arts from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur in the year 1981. But, at that time, she had passed in IIIrd Division only and, therefore, she again appeared for improvement of her Division in the graduation from Osmania University in the year 1989 and passed the graduation examination from the said University in IInd Division, as per Ex. 4. 3. The Rajasthan Public Service Commission issued a notice inviting application vide advertisement No. 4/89-90 dated 24th July, 1989, which was published in the Rajasthan Patrika in the month of August, 1989. As per this notice, applications were invited for the appointment on 11 posts of Lecturers (Textile Designer). 4. 3. The Rajasthan Public Service Commission issued a notice inviting application vide advertisement No. 4/89-90 dated 24th July, 1989, which was published in the Rajasthan Patrika in the month of August, 1989. As per this notice, applications were invited for the appointment on 11 posts of Lecturers (Textile Designer). Out of the 11 posts, 4 posts have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates and seven posts were available for general quota candidates. The appointments on the aforesaid posts are governed by the provisions of the Rajasthan Technical Education Service Rules, 1973, as amended by the Rajasthan Technical Education Service (Amendment) Rules, 1988. As per the Notification No. F.l (12) DOP/A-1/88 dated 27th December, 1988, in the schedule appended to these Rules, the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) was included at Sr. No. 11 and the said post is required to be filled up 100% by direct recruitment and the eligibility for the said post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) under the category of Women Polytechnic College as prescribed in Col. 4 of the schedule against the said post is as under:- "11. Lecturer 100% by direct recruitment. 1. 2nd Class degree in appropriate branch/Faculty of a University established by law in India or qualifications recognised as equivalent thereto by the Government or 2nd Class degree in Arts/Science/Commerce of a University established by law in India with three years 2nd Class Diploma from a State Board in the appropriate branch/faculty. 2. Minimum two years' professional/teaching experience after acquiring the above qualification." 4. In response to the aforesaid advertisement dated 24th July, 1989 Ex. 5, the petitioner also applied for the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) and, apprehending that respondent No. 2 i.e. Rajasthan Public Service Commission was likely to reject her application on the ground that she does not possess the requisite experience of two years, after graduation in IInd Division. She preferred this writ petition before this Court on 4th October, 1990 and, this Court passed an interim order on 31st October, 1990, in favour of the petitioner, directing that the candidature of the petitioner shall be considered by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission for the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing); however, the result of the petitioner's interview shall not be declared till further orders. 5. No return has been filed on behalf of respondents. 5. No return has been filed on behalf of respondents. Shri M.I. Khan, appearing on behalf of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, submitted that it is a pure question of law. Admittedly, the petitioner does not possess two years' experience after graduation in IInd Division, she does not fulfil the requirement for appointment as a Lecturer in Textile Designing and, therefore, she docs not have any right of consideration for the aforesaid post. 6. Shri S.K. Keshote, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, has challenged the validity of requirement of possessing two years' experience after graduation in Ilnd Division and has submitted that two years' experience should be necessary after graduation. Shri Keshote has submitted that all that is necessary is that the candidate must be a IInd Class graduate and, even if a candidate had acquired certain amount of experience as a IIIrd divisioner graduate, such experience cannot be ignored once the candidate also possess the graduation in IInd Division at a latter stage and, it cannot be insisted that two years' experience must be there after obtaining graduation in IInd Division. Shri Keshote has submitted that the essential qualification is graduation in IInd Division and once the candidate is found to be a IInd Classes graduate and he/she possesses two years' experience, such candidate must be taken to be eligible in terms of the qualification prescribed in Col. 4 of the Schedule appended to the Rajasthan Technical Education Service Rules, 1973. Shri Keshote has submitted that the essential qualification is graduation in IInd Division and once the candidate is found to be a IInd Classes graduate and he/she possesses two years' experience, such candidate must be taken to be eligible in terms of the qualification prescribed in Col. 4 of the Schedule appended to the Rajasthan Technical Education Service Rules, 1973. He has further submitted that if the qualification, mentioned above, is construed to mean that the two years' experience should be there after obtaining the graduation in IInd Division, it would render the entry in Column 4 against the aforesaid post in the schedule to be ultra vires of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India as it would mean to treat the two classes differently merely because one has acquired the experience after obtaining the IInd Division and the other has acquired such experience while being a IIIrd Divisioner graduate i.e. before passing the graduation in IInd Division, whereas the experience acquired has no nexus and relationship with the division in the graduation and the period during which the experience is gained whether before or after the graduation in IInd Class (Division) is not the sine qua non for the purpose Of determining the eligibility and, thus equals cannot be treated in an unequal manner. 7. Shri M.I. Khan, Add4. Advocate General, appearing on behalf of the respondents, has on the other hand argued that it is for the rule making authority to prescribe the requirement for a particular post, including the qualification and experience if the rule making authority has prescribed that the experience must be after graduation in II Division, such a rule based on criteria of qualification is not open to challenge as being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. He has submitted that admittedly the petitioner does not possess two years' experience after graduation in IInd Division and, therefore she has no case. 8. We have considered the rival submissions made on behalf of the parties. In order to decide the controversy the first question which we have to consider is as to what is difference in the nature and quality of experience gained before and after graduation in IInd Division. 8. We have considered the rival submissions made on behalf of the parties. In order to decide the controversy the first question which we have to consider is as to what is difference in the nature and quality of experience gained before and after graduation in IInd Division. Once a candidate has acquired the two years' professional/teaching experience, there is no basis to say that the nature and quality of the experience so acquired is inferior or superior merely because it was so acquired before passing the graduation in IInd Division and after passing the graduation in IInd Division. One can understand that as a part of an academic qualification, the division can be insisted upon, which is a classification of the merit standard of that qualification; but once the candidate has acquired the prescribed academic qualification, no classification can be made in the matter of experience gained while working on a particular post with reference to the division in the academic qualification. In the instant case, the minimum qualification is that of IInd Division in graduation. There may be candidates who may even have 1st Division, but it cannot be said that the experience gained by the 1st Divisioner is to be placed at a higher pedestal than the experience gained by the IInd divisioner and, it would be a case of stretching too far to the extent of hair-splitting if the argument of reasonable classification on the basis of qualification is extended and applied against the nature and quality of experience with reference to the division in which the academic qualification has been attained. The post is to be filled 100% by direct recruitment and, therefore, the experience which is gained has no functional difference in the speciality concerned and, merely because a graduate has improved his/her division at a latter stage, the experience gained by the graduate cannot be discarded on the basis of the date of division. In our considered opinion, once a candidate has obtained graduation in IInd Division, his/her right of consideration under Article 16 of the Constitution of India and the right of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India cannot be made to be defeasible on the basis of the period during which the experience was gained and it would clearly mean a micro-classification which will be unreasonable and would mean to treat the equals in an unequal manner. The touchstone in such cases is as to whether at the time of consideration the candidate is possessing the minimum qualification or not; and as to whether the candidate also possessed the requisite amount of experience and, if the candidate is found to possess the minimum qualification prescribed under the rules at the time of consideration and is also found to possess the requisite amount of experience, the experience cannot be segregated on the basis of date of division in the academic qualification. 9. We have gone through the language used in the entry in Col. No. 4 against the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing), according to which the minimum qualification is graduation. In our opinion, while the division in which a qualification must be there, can certainly be prescribed as a necessary requirement, nevertheless, the fact remains that the division is only a further merit standard of that qualification. The qualification means passing a particular examination viz. matriculation, intermediate, graduation, post-graduation, but the further requirement of division is only a merit standard of such qualification. Therefore, after prescribing the qualification and the merit standard of that qualification, if it is mentioned in the clause relating to experience as a part of eligibility that one must have the experience after the prescribed qualification, it does not necessarily mean that the experience must be after the qualification of a particular merit standard. For the purpose of experience, the qualification would only mean the qualification and not the further merit standard of that qualification. We have to give a harmonious construction to a rule which must sound reasonable to a prudent person and, on the basis of this principle the meaning of clause (2) of the requirement of eligibility, when it says that two years professional/teaching experience after obtaining the aforesaid qualification, should be construed to mean two years' experience after graduation and not necessarily after graduation in IInd Division. We are afraid, if the words "aforesaid qualification" are construed to mean-’aforesaid^qualification in IInd Division" it would render the entry in Col. No. 4 to be ultra vires of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. According to the settled principles of interpretation, the rule is to be construed in a manner so as to save it from being rendered invalid and, accordingly we hold that the words "aforesaid qualification" used in Col. 2 of eligibility in entry under Col. No. 4 to be ultra vires of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. According to the settled principles of interpretation, the rule is to be construed in a manner so as to save it from being rendered invalid and, accordingly we hold that the words "aforesaid qualification" used in Col. 2 of eligibility in entry under Col. 4 against the post of Lecturer in Textile Designing in the Schedule appended to the Rajasthan Technical Education Service Rules, 1973 only refers to graduation and not graduation in IInd Division. Thus, in our considered opinion, the entry as it stands is valid, but we find that it has been wrongly construed by the respondents so as to mean the two years' experience after graduation in IInd Division. We hold that the petitioner's candidature for the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) meats the requirement of entry in Col. 4 against the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing), as mentioned in the Schedule appended to the Rajasthan Technical Education Service Rules, 1973, and her candidature is not liable to be rejected only on the ground that she does not possess two years' experience after graduation in IInd Division. We direct that the petitioner's candidature be duly considered for the aforesaid post of Lecturer (Textile Designing) and, in case she has been interviewed under the interim order dated 31st October, 1990, passed by this Court, her result may also be declared and, in case she is or has been found to be suitable, she may be treated at par with other such candidates as per the merit list for the purpose of appointment on the post of Lecturer (Textile Designing).The writ petition is allowed as indicated above with no order as to costs.Writ Petition Allowed. *******