Uttarakhand High Court
WPSB/404/2022 on 20 July, 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
AT NAINITAL
THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI VIPIN SANGHI
AND
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH CHANDRA KHULBE
WRIT PETITION (S/B) NO. 404 OF 2022
20th JULY, 2022
Between:
Subhash Chandra ...... Petitioner
and
Hemanti Nandan Bahuguna
Central University Garhwal, Srinagar ...... Respondent
Counsel for the petitioner : Mr. Abhishek Bahuguna, learned
counsel
Counsel for the respondent : Dr. Kartikey Hari Gupta, learned
counsel
The Court made the following:
JUDGMENT: (per Hon'ble The Chief Justice Sri Vipin Sanghi)
The petitioner has preferred the present writ
petition to seek quashing of the merit list for interview
drawn by the respondent-University, dated 25.07.2022.
He seeks re-determination of the final merit list for
interview after considering the petitioner's objections to
the effect that only candidates with M.Sc. and / or Phd.
Pharmaceutical Chemistry should be permitted to offer
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their candidature for the post of Assistant Professor,
Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in the respondent-University.
2) The case of the petitioner is that he has been
serving at the respondent-University as a guest faculty on
the post of Assistant Professor since the year 2009. His
appointment has been continued over the years. On
09.11.2021, the respondent issued an advertisement
inviting applications from eligible candidates for the post of
Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in
different subjects, including Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
The petitioner applied for the post of Assistant Professor in
Pharmaceutical Chemistry as an unreserved category
candidate. The respondent published the impugned list of
short-listed candidates, who are invited for interview on
04.07.2022, wherein the petitioner did not find his name.
3) The petitioner is aggrieved by his exclusion in
the final list for interview, and his grievance is that several
other candidates having qualification in other subjects
have been permitted to offer their candidature for the post
of Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Chemistry. The
petitioner also sent a representation to the respondent
raising his grievance that candidates holding qualification
in M. Pharm. in Pharmaceutics, or in Pharmacognosy or in
Pharmacology have been allowed to offer their candidature
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for the post in question, which, according to the petitioner,
is not permissible.
4) Learned counsel for the petitioner has himself
drew out attention to the UGC Regulations framed on
18.07.2018 on minimum qualifications for appointment of
teachers and other academic staff in Universities and
Colleges. For the post of Assistant Professor, recruited
through direct recruitment, the eligibility qualifications
prescribed are, inter alia, as follows:
A Master's degree with 55% marks (or an equivalent
grade in a point-scale wherever the grading system is
followed) in a concerned / relevant / allied subject from
an Indian University, or an equivalent degree from an
accredited foreign university.
5) Thus it would be seen that candidates holding
qualification in the "concerned, relevant, allied subject
from an Indian University, or an equivalent degree from an
accredited foreign University" can be considered for
appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in the
concerned subject. The respondent-University has
considered subjects, such as, M. Pharm. in Pharmaceutics,
M. Pharm. in Pharmacognosy, and M. Pharm. in
Pharmacology, as relevant / allied subject vis-à-vis
Pharmaceutical Chemistry. The petitioner cannot have a
grievance with the respondent allowing candidates holding
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qualification in such relied or allied subjects to participate
in the selection process for the post in question.
6) The grievance of the petitioner is that while
others holding qualification in relevant / allied subjects are
being offered the candidature for the post of Assistant
Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
likewise, the petitioner's candidature is not being
considered for other posts.
7) We are not concerned with that aspect of the
matter as that is not the subject matter of this writ
petition. The aforesaid Regulation of the UGC is binding on
the respondent-University, and the same is not even under
challenge.
8) We, therefore, do not find any merit in this writ
petition. The same is, accordingly, dismissed.
Stay Application IA No. 01 of 2022 also stands
disposed of.
________________
VIPIN SANGHI, C.J.
__________
R.C. Khulbe, J.
Dt: 20th JULY, 2022
Negi
