The Supreme Court has issued notice on the appeal filed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) against the order of the Kerala High Court regarding the appointment of Priya Varghese as Associate Professor at Kannur University.
The High Court had allowed her appointment, considering the period spent pursuing her Ph.D. as teaching experience. Priya Varghese is the wife of K.K. Ragesh, the private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The UGC, in its appeal before the Apex Court, contends that the High Court erred in treating the period spent on her Ph.D. as teaching experience. In a previous appeal by Priya Varghese, a division bench had set aside the single bench order, ruling that the period spent on her Ph.D. under the Faculty Development Programme should be counted as teaching experience.
During the hearing, Justice J K Maheshwari remarked that the High Court was somewhat wrong in its interpretation. The Division Bench had interpreted Regulation 3.11 of the 2018 UGC regulations, stating that if research degrees are pursued by regular faculty members alongside teaching assignments, the period would count as teaching experience.
However, the UGC argues that the regulation explicitly states that the time taken to acquire a Ph.D. will not be counted as teaching or research experience unless it is done simultaneously with teaching assignments without taking any leave. The UGC asserts that the period Varghese spent obtaining her Ph.D. cannot be considered teaching experience, making her ineligible for the Associate Professor post.
Furthermore, the UGC argues that the High Court overlooked the provision in the Kannur University Act, which prescribes suits against the University to be instituted in the name of the Registrar. The UGC also claims that the provisional Rank List, challenged in the writ, was issued by the University's Registrar, who was a party to the petition.
The UGC also disputes the High Court's ruling that Varghese's period on deputation as Director of Student Services/Programme Coordinator of NSS should be counted as teaching experience. The Division bench argued that not considering such experience as teaching experience could adversely affect academic teachers' career progression, leading them to avoid deputation positions.
The UGC asserts that its interpretation of the regulation should prevail, emphasizing that its regulations override any contrary positions in state statutes or legislation. The UGC maintains that the Division Bench erred in setting aside the single bench order based on sound legal principles.
In November 2022, a single bench had ruled that Priya Varghese did not possess the required teaching experience for the Associate Professor post at the Department of Malayalam, Kannur University. The court directed the University's competent authority to reconsider her credentials and decide whether she should continue on the Rank List.
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