Governing Body Swami Shraddhanand College v. Amar Nath Jha and Another
Background
Dr. Amar Nath Jha was selected by the Governing Body of Swami Shraddhanand College to be appointed Vice-Principal, but the University of Delhi refused to approve the appointment, citing lack of prior approval as required under the University's Ordinances and issues with how the College was managing its acting Principal post. Dr. Jha challenged the refusal before the Delhi High Court, and both the Single Judge and the Division Bench ruled in his favour, directing the University to grant approval. The College and University appealed to the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals. It held that although the Ordinance technically required prior University approval before appointing a Vice-Principal, the University's own past practice, recorded in a tabular chart before the High Court, showed approval had routinely been granted after the fact (post facto) in similar past appointments. Since Dr. Jha was not shown to be otherwise ineligible, the Court found the University's refusal to be unjustified and not made in good faith, appearing instead to be an attempt to block him from later acting as Principal (since the Principal's post was vacant). The Court held this concern was premature, any such issue would only arise if the College itself failed to fill the regular Principal's post, and upheld the High Court's direction to approve his appointment, while allowing some time for the Principal's post to be filled.
Lesson Learnt
An institution cannot deny an employee a benefit or appointment by invoking a procedural formality (like "no prior approval") when its own established practice shows that requirement has routinely been relaxed for others, especially where the employee is otherwise qualified and the delay is not of their own making.