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Prof. Narendra Singh Bhandari vs. Ravindra Jugran and Others

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 1198Decided 10 Nov 2022
Civil Appeal No. 8184 of 2022
M.R. Shah · M.M. Sundresh

Background

The appellant was appointed by the Uttarakhand State Government as the first Vice-Chancellor of Soban Singh Jeena University in August 2020. A writ petition challenged the appointment on the ground that he lacked the mandatory minimum 10 years' teaching experience as a Professor under UGC Regulations, 2018, and that his name had never been placed before a Search-cum-Selection Committee as required by law. The Uttarakhand High Court quashed his appointment, and he appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that under Section 10 of the Soban Singh Jeena University Act, 2019 read with Regulation 7.3.0 of the UGC Regulations, 2018 (validly adopted by the State Government), a Vice-Chancellor must have a minimum of 10 years' teaching experience as Professor and must be appointed from a panel recommended by a Search-cum-Selection Committee. The appellant had only about 8 years 5 months of actual teaching experience; his subsequent tenure as a member of the Public Service Commission (where he held only a "lien" on his professorship and supervised PhD scholars) could not count as teaching experience, especially since Article 319 of the Constitution barred him from holding another post while serving on the Commission. The Court also found no Search Committee was ever constituted and only one name was placed before the Chief Minister, violating the statutory procedure: the proviso for a "first" Vice-Chancellor did not exempt the State from following the selection process. The appeal was dismissed, upholding the High Court's quashing of the appointment; the Court noted the appellant remained free to resign if he wished.

Lesson Learnt

Statutory eligibility criteria and prescribed selection procedures (such as a Search-cum-Selection Committee) for high public offices like university Vice-Chancellor cannot be bypassed even for a "first" appointment: technical arrangements like a "lien" on a prior post do not substitute for actually fulfilling experience requirements.

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

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