Punjab: HC upholds recruitment process of 1,091 assistant professors and 67 librarians

Punjab: A division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has reversed its earlier judgment declaring the recruitment process of 1,091 assistant professors and 67 librarians in Punjab government colleges as invalid. The judgment came in response to a number of appeals challenging the August 8, 2022 order by a single bench. A division bench of Justice Suresh Thakur and Justice Sudipti Sharma observed that the petitioners before the single bench had challenged the recruitment process initiated by the Punjab government. Among other things, they had sought quashing of the memorandum dated October 18, 2021 and the public notice dated October 19, 2021 relating to the recruitment process. Claiming that the selection process was fundamentally flawed, they sought directions to fill up the vacant posts through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) in accordance with the service rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Citing the factual background of the case, the bench stressed that it shows that the Punjab government initiated the recruitment process through a memorandum allowing written examinations to be held by the selection committees of Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University. The memorandum included relaxation in age limit and marks for part-time or contractual teachers. After issuing public notice inviting applications for these posts, the proposal to revert to the PPSC for recruitment was rejected. Written examinations were held between November 20 and 22, 2021 and results were declared on November 28. Appointment orders were issued for 607 candidates on December 2-3, 2021. But the government withdrew the earlier weightage to experience on December 18, saying selection would now be based only on the merit of the examination. After hearing arguments, the single judge quashed the selection, saying the government’s action appeared to be a sham to justify its decisions. The Court pulled up the government for disrespecting the constitutional right of the PPSC by withdrawing the requisition for already existing posts in the final stage of recruitment.

The applicability of UGC Regulations with regard to evaluation of candidates was upheld, as was the claim that the selection criteria in the impugned memo were not in conformity with the UGC standards. However, the division bench found merit in all the appeals and set aside the impugned judgment of the single judge. The Court also directed the respondents to complete the necessary formalities and facilitate the appellants to join. The main issue centred on whether the UGC Regulations of 2018 were properly adopted during the meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 17, 2021. Pointing to Supreme Court precedents treating procedural rules as directory, the bench stressed that it was sufficient for the Chief Minister to approve the minutes later, even though he was absent during the meeting. The court observed that the 2018 UGC Regulations were not adopted in that meeting but the old 1976 rules should govern the recruitment process. The bench said there is no absolute rule that says only PPSC recruitment should be treated with the highest regard, in view of the recent scam in its recruitment process. The appellants were represented by senior advocates Rajiv Atma Ram, Anupam Gupta and R.S. Bains. Other lawyers include Puneet Gupta, Saurabh Arora, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Brijesh Khosla, Shreya Kaushik, Gautam Pathania, Sukhpal Singh, Amrik Singh, Anmoldeep Singh, Amarjit Singh, Anil Rana and Ravindra Singh.