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Annu Kumar & Anr. v. Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 968Decided 8 Sept 2026
Civil Appeal Nos. arising out of SLP(C) Nos. 24737-24739 of 2023
Justice Dipankar Datta · Justice Manmohan

Background

The appellants, unsuccessful candidates for an Assistant Professor post advertised by a college affiliated with Maharshi Dayanand University, alleged that the selected candidate (respondent no. 6) had secured appointment using a PhD degree from Bundelkhand University that RTI replies later suggested was never actually awarded. Their writ petition seeking a writ of quo warranto was dismissed by a Single Judge and then by a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the latter holding the appellants lacked standing since they hadn't even placed in the merit list.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court's bottom-line conclusion: since the appointee had independently qualified the UGC-NET exam, which alone was sufficient eligibility under the applicable rules, his PhD degree (genuine or not) was not a mandatory qualification, so no case for quo warranto was made out and the appeal on this narrow ground failed. However, invoking its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Court could not ignore the serious documentary evidence, including an affidavit from Bundelkhand University itself calling the degree "fake and farzi", and directed the University to conduct a fresh inquiry into the authenticity of the PhD degree, with the appointee given a fair hearing, and left open the possibility of criminal prosecution if the inquiry found forgery.

Lesson Learnt

A writ of quo warranto to unseat a public appointee requires proof that a mandatory qualification is lacking. If an alternative qualification independently suffices, an unsuccessful candidate cannot use quo warranto merely to air a personal grievance; but courts can still direct a targeted inquiry into serious allegations of forged credentials even while declining to grant the specific relief sought.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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