Petitioner challenged rejection of candidature for Assistant Professor post as lacking UGC-recognized Ph.D. Court held right to know reasons exists and directed respondent to communicate rejection basis within two weeks.
Direction to respondent to convey reasons for rejection of petitioner's candidature within two weeks.
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CWP No. 11964 of 2013
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
CWP No. 11964 of 2013 Date of decision: 29.05.2013
Suresh Kumar
...... Petitioner
Vs.
State of Haryana & others
..... Respondents
CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJINDER SINGH DHINDSA.
Present: Mr. V.D. Sharma, Advocate for the petitioner.
Tejinder Singh Dhindsa, J. (Oral)
The Directorate of Secondary Education, State of Haryana issued advertisement dated 21.11.2012 (Annexure P-1) inviting applications for the post of Principal as also 16 posts of Assistant Professors in various subjects. The petitioner applied for the solitary post of Assistant Professor in the subject of Psychology. In the advertisement itself, the essential qualifications for the post had been prescribed and one of the condition was for the candidate to have qualified the National Eligible Test (NET) in the subject concerned. Furthermore, it had also been clarified in the advertisement that such candidates who possess the Ph.D. degree in accordance with the University Grant Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. degree) Regulation, 2009 would be exempted from qualifying the NET.
Counsel would submit that the petitioner holds the
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CWP No. 11964 of 2013
qualification of Ph.D. awarded by CMJ University, Meghalaya and towards such assertion would advert to a certificate appended as Annexure P-4. It has further been stated that the petitioner had appeared in the written test conducted by the Director, State Council of Education and Research Training, Gurgaon and had even qualified the same. Thereafter the petitioner had been called to appear in the interview on 17.05.2013.
The present writ petition has been filed in terms of raising a grievance that even though no specific order in writing has been conveyed to the petitioner, yet his candidature has not been accepted by orally informing him that his Ph.D. degree is not as per UGC Rules, 2009.
In the absence of any specific order having been placed on record, the issue as regards the candidature and eligibility of the petitioner for the post of Assistant Professor Psychology cannot be gone into in the present writ petition. Be that as it may, the petitioner is certainly vested with a right to be informed as regards the precise reasons/basis on which his candidature has been rejected and his right for consideration for appointment to the post has been declined.
Accordingly, the present writ petition is disposed of with a direction to respondent No. 1 to convey to the petitioner the final decision on the basis of which the candidature of the petitioner for the post of Assistant Professor Psychology has been rejected. It is expected that such order would disclose the reasons/basis for such rejection. Let
CWP No. 11964 of 2013
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such order be communicated to the petitioner within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.
Disposed of.
29th May, 2013 (TEJINDER SINGH DHINDSA) harjeet JUDGE
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the petitioner is entitled to receive the reasons/basis for rejection of his candidature.
Whether cause of action for seeking reasons persists in absence of written rejection order.
Suresh Kumar
State of Haryana
Tejinder Singh Dhindsa
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
