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Dr. Shadab Ahmed Khan v. Prof. Mujahid Beg

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 391Decided 23 Apr 2018
Civil Appeal No. 4278 of 2018
Justice S.A. Bobde · Justice L. Nageswara Rao

Background

The appellants were promoted to the post of Professor in the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, under the Career Advancement Scheme. A rival faculty member (Respondent No. 1) challenged these promotions before the Allahabad High Court, arguing the appellants lacked the Ph.D. qualification required under UGC Regulations. The High Court agreed, set aside the promotions, and ordered the appellants reverted from the post of Professor, without examining other objections the challenger had also raised. The appellants, along with Aligarh Muslim University and another affected teacher, appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court was wrong to require a Ph.D. for promotion of medical college faculty: UGC Regulations themselves carve out faculty of medicine, directing that their qualifications be governed instead by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare/Medical Council of India (MCI) norms, which prescribe MD/MS rather than a Ph.D. The Court noted the UGC itself had initially given incorrect information on this point to the High Court before filing a corrective affidavit. Having resolved this specific legal question in the appellants' favour, the Court set aside the High Court's judgment and remanded the matter back to the High Court to decide the other objections that Respondent No. 1 had raised but which the High Court had never reached. The connected appeals by the University and the other affected teacher were disposed of on the same terms.

Lesson Learnt

For promotion/appointment qualification disputes in specialised fields like medicine, the generally applicable UGC Regulations give way to the specific regulations of the relevant statutory council (here, the Medical Council of India): a Ph.D. requirement meant for general university faculty cannot be mechanically applied to medical college teachers.

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

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