Uttarakhand High Court
WPSB/157/2021 on 4 August, 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
AT NAINITAL
SRI JUSTICE VIPIN SANGHI, C.J.
AND
SRI JUSTICE R.C. KHULBE, J.
4th August, 2022
WRIT PETITION (S/B) No. 157 OF 2021
Between:
Dr. Harbir Singh Randhava and others ......Petitioners
and
State of Uttarakhand and others ....Respondents
Counsel for the petitioners : Mr. Shobhit Saharia, learned counsel.
Counsel for the respondents : Mr. Pradeep Joshi, learned Additional
Chief Standing Counsel for the State of
Uttarakhand.
Mr. Vikas Pande, learned counsel for
respondent No. 4.
Upon hearing the learned Counsel, the Court made
the following
JUDGMENT : (per Sri Vipin Sanghi, C.J.)
The four petitioners before us-who were serving
as Associate Professor in different Departments of D.A.V.
P.G. College, Dehradun, preferred this writ petition,
initially, to assail the order dated 24.03.2021, issued by
respondent No. 1.
2. By the said order, the exercise for carrying-out
promotion, inter-alia, of Associate Professors to the posts
of Professors under the Career Advancement Scheme of
the University Grants Commission (for short 'UGC') was
put on hold.
3. Before proceeding further, we may take note of
the some background facts.
4. On 30.06.2010, the UGC floated the Career
Advancement Scheme. Under this Scheme, the
performance based appraisal system was adopted. The
promotions were to be made based on merits by
evaluation of the candidates on academic performance
indicators. This Scheme of the UGC was adopted by the
State of Uttarakhand on 28.05.2013. On 28.09.2016, the
Government of Uttarakhand issued an order, thereby
seeking to substitute the merit based promotion Scheme
by seniority based promotion scheme for promotion from
the post of Associate Professor to Professor. The
aforesaid Government Order dated 28.09.2016 was put to
challenge before this Court in WPSB No. 22 of 2018, which
was allowed on 14.06.2018. Consequently, the
Government Order dated 28.09.2016 was quashed by the
Court. Eventually, the Government also issued an order on
03.08.2018 withdrawing Clause (3) of its earlier order
dated 28.09.2016. In the meantime, the UGC came out
with a new set of Regulations on 18.07.2018, namely,
UGC Regulations On Minimum Qualifications For
Appointment Of Teachers And Other Academic Staff In
Universities And Colleges And Measures For The
Maintenance Of Standards in Higher Education, 2018 (for
short the '2018 Regulations'). These Regulations
prescribed new methodology for promotions of teachers /
professors. These Regulations were adopted by the State
of Uttarakhand on 06.09.2019. Clause 6.3 of the 2018
Regulations is pertinent and reads as follows:-
"The criteria for promotion under Career
Advancement Scheme laid down under these
Regulations shall be effective from the date of
notification of these Regulations. However, to
avoid hardship to those faculty members who
have already qualified or are likely to qualify
shortly under the existing regulations, a choice
may be given to them, for being considered for
promotion under the existing Regulations. This
option can be exercised only within three years
from the date of notification of these
Regulations."
5. On 24.12.2020, the respondents invited option
from the candidates as to whether they wish to opt to be
considered for promotion under the 2010 Regulations, or
under the 2018 Regulations? On 05.01.2021, the
Management of the respondent-College issued the forms,
in which the options were to be exercised. Soon
thereafter, all the petitioners exercised their options to be
considered for promotion under the 2010 Regulations. On
15.03.2021, call-letters were issued to the petitioners for
consideration of their promotion to the posts of Professor
under the 2010 Regulations. That is when the impugned
order dated 24.03.2021 was issued, which led to the filing
of the present writ petition. However, during the
pendency of this petition, the said impugned Office Order
was withdrawn on 30.07.2021.
6. The obstacles in the petitioners' way, however,
did not come to an end, since the State Government
issued yet another Communication dated 11.12.2021
stating that all the applicants, who had applied for
promotion under the 2010 Regulations should make their
applications under the 2018 Regulations. Consequently,
the petitioners amended the writ petition to incorporate
the Prayer (d), which is to seek a mandamus to the
respondents to carry-out promotion exercise and for
consideration of the petitioners' cases for promotion from
the post of Associate Professors to the post of Professors
as per the 2010 Regulations, and in terms of their options
exercised as per Clause 6.3 of the 2018 Regulations.
7. The submission of the learned counsel for the
petitioners is that the Communication dated 11.12.2021
requiring the candidates, who had opted for consideration
of their cases for promotion under the 2010 Regulations,
to re-apply for consideration of their cases for promotion
under the 2018 Regulations is in the teeth of the 2018
Regulations of the UGC and, in particular, Clause 6.3
thereof.
8. The learned counsel submits that since the
State of Uttarakhand adopted the 2018 Regulations on
06.09.2019, the State is bound by the Regulations in their
entirety, and cannot deviate from Clause 6.3 thereof,
which entitles the petitioners to give their options within
three years as to whether they would like their cases to be
considered for promotion under the 2010 Regulations or
under the 2018 Regulations. The learned counsel
submits that in the present case, the options had been
exercised well within the period of three years of the
coming into effect of the 2018 Regulations, i.e.
18.07.2018, even if one were to ignore the fact that the
State had adopted the 2018 Regulations on 06.09.2019.
In fact, this Court has already taken a view that so far as
the period of three years for exercise of options under
Clause 6.3 is concerned, the limitation would be governed
from the date of adoption of the 2018 Regulations by the
State of Uttarakhand, i.e. 06.09.2019 in WPSB No. 622 of
2021.
9. Mr. Pradeep Joshi, learned Additional Chief
Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand, is not in a
position to controvert any of the aforesaid submissions.
10. The petitioners were permitted to provisionally
participate in the selection process and for consideration
of their cases for promotion under the 2010 Regulations
vide order dated 05.05.2022. The respondents were
directed to produce the results of the said consideration
on 19.07.2022. The results were produced before us
today in a sealed cover, which have been opened. From
the same, it transpires that all the petitioners have been
recommended for promotion upon consideration of their
cases under the 2010 Regulations.
11. Consequently, we allow this writ petition, and
direct the respondents to give effect to the
recommendations made by the Evaluation Committee for
promotion of the petitioners in their respective
Departments to the post of Professor.
12. The parties are left to bear their respective
costs.
________________
VIPIN SANGHI, C.J.
____________
R.C. KHULBE, J.
Dt:4th August, 2022
Rathour
