Madhya Pradesh High Court
Naresh Singh Chauhan vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh Thr on 6 July, 2017
1
WP.5793/2015
Naresh Singh Chauhan Vs. The State of M.P. & Ors.
06 . 07. 2017
Shri M.P.S. Raghuvanshi, counsel for the petitioner.
Shri Praveen Newaskar, Govt. Advocate for the respondent /
State.
Shri R.D. Jain, Senior Advocate with Shri Sangam Jain, counsel for the M.P.P.S.C.
1. The present petition in shape of public interest litigation is filed by one Naresh Singh Chauhan, who happens to be an Advocate by occupation praying for the following reliefs :-
(i) That the respondents may kindly be directed to post adequate number of teachers to sanctioned posts of Asstt.
Professors / Professors and other non teaching staff in Govt. College Lahar, Govt. College Alampur and Govt. College Mihona.
(ii) That the respondents be further directed to improve the condition of the aforesaid colleges by providing other facilities like Library, Laboratory and separate adequate number of toilets to the boy and girl students.
(iii) That the other relief doing justice including cost be awarded.
2. It may be pertinent to mention at the very outset that though the relief sought was only in respect of deficient teaching staff in three Government colleges namely Govt. College Lahar, Govt. College Alampur and Govt. College Mihona (all within the District of Bhind) but this Court taking note of the dismal state of affairs in the Govt. Colleges situated within the State of M.P. where about 2371 posts of Asstt. Professors were lying vacant, extended the field and sweep of this PIL by interlocutory order dated 26.10.2016 and subsequent interim orders passed.
3. Explanation was called from the State and later from the 2 WP.5793/2015 M.P.P.S.C. by adding said Commission as party for not filling up large number of vacancies in the cadre of Asstt. Professor and instead making temporary arrangement by appointing Guest Faculty teachers on contract / temporary/ adhoc basis every academic year. This Court also took note of the fact that since last several years no recruitment was made to fill up the posts of Asstt. Professors lying vacant in different colleges in the State of M.P. However, cognizance was taken by this Court of the piquant situation where the said vacancies were filled by Government on adhoc basis by appointing Guest Faculty in very large number amounting to brazen violation of ceiling of 10% of total number of Faculty position in any college / university prescribed by the UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2010.
4. At this stage, it would be appropriate to delineate in short several responses filed by the State and the M.P.P.S.C. which are detailed below in chronological manner :-
Response Details
(i)Short reply of State (a) In Govt. College Lahar there
dated 07.10.2015 are 12 sanctioned posts of Asstt.
Professors all of which are filled up
by Guest Faculty Vide Annexure
R/1.
(b) At Govt. College Alampur 4
posts of Asstt. Professors exist all
of which are also filled by Guest
Faculty Vide Annexure R/2
(c) The Govt. Gandhi College has
14 sanctioned posts of Asstt.
Professors all of which are also
filled up by Guest Faculty vide
Annexure R/3.
(ii)Additional Return (a) In 2014 advertisement was
dated 28.04.2016 of issued by PSC on the behest of
the State in response the State for filling up vacancies
to the anxiety but the same was cancelled to be
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WP.5793/2015
expressed by the reissued on 19.02.2016 Vide
Court over large Annexure R/4.
number of vacancies
(b) Thus State and P.S.C. are
in the cadre of Asstt.
taking steps to fill up the
Professors in the
vacancies.
State of M.P.
(iii) IA No. 5437/2017 (a) Pursuant to the
dated 06.08.2017, advertisement dated 19.02.2016
an application for PSC shall hold examination from
taking documents on 22.08.2016 to 04.09.2016
record filed by the through Online process in 7
State. Districts i.e. Indore, Bhopal,
Jabalpur, Gwalior , Sagar, Satna
and Ujjain whereafter interview
would be conducted.
(iv) Short reply of the (a) State informs that
State dt. 07.09.2016 advertisement dated
19.02.2016 has been cancelled
due to subsequent change in
the guidelines of UGC.
(b) Process for filling up of all
the vacancies in the said three
colleges situated in the District
of Bhind through Guest Faculty
is initiated. Transfers have also
been done for shifting Asstt.
Professors from other colleges
to the said three colleges.
(v) Compliance (a) Partial compliance has
report of State been made of filling up the
dated. 26.10.2016 vacancies by making transfers
and appointment of Guest
faculties.
(vi) IA No. 5986/16 (a) That after cancellation of the
dated. 05.12.2016 advertisement dated 19.02.2016 the
an application in State has issued letter dated
compliance of the 24.11.2016 asking the PSC to re-
order dt. 26.10.2016 initiate the process of recruitment to fill
up the large number of vacancies in
cadre of Asstt. Professor on regular
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WP.5793/2015
basis.
(b) It is clarified that the earlier process of recruitment could not be brought to their logical conclusion on account of decision of the Apex court in the case of P. Susheela & Ors. Vs. U.G.C. & others reported in 2015 (8) SCC129 mandating filling up of vacancies in strict adherence to the amended regulations of UGC (C) Due to stalemate the temporary arrangement of appointment of Guest Faculty is adopted by the State.
(vii) IA No. 8316/2016for impleadment of M.P.P.S.C as party is allowed.
(viii) Compliance (a)The State informs that report in view of the pursuant to the request made to order dt. 11.01.2017 the PSC on 24.11.2016 reminder vide document No. is sent to the PSC vide letter 626 / 2017 dated dated 27.01.2017 to expedite the 07.02.2017 process of filling up the vacancies.
(b) State further informs that certain transfers made to fill up the vacancies on temporary basis could not be effected on account of interim orders passed by the High Court.
(ix) IA No. 1822 /2017 (a) The P.S.C. informs that it an application for has decided on 06.02.2017 to taking certain reinitiate the process by issuing documents on record fresh advertisement with filed by the PSC. assurance that result of the said process shall see the light of the day by April, 2017.
(x) IA No. 2051/2017, (a) That since amended regulation an application for of UGC required eligibility of 5 WP.5793/2015 showing compliance of clearance of NET / SET / Ph.D order dated and since the SET exam is to be 22.03.2017 filed by the held in April, 2017, the process of PSC. selection would commence thereafter.
(b) The advertisement dated 19.02.2016 has been put to hold by the PSC on the request of the State Government dated 19.08.2016.
5. Besides the above, an Association of Guest Faculty filed IA No. 2621 /2017, an application for intervention, informing inter alia that validity of advertisement dated 19.02.2016 was unsuccessfully challenged in WP No. 5907/2016 which was dismissed on 27.04.2016 at the Principal Seat of this Court at Jabalpur against which the said Association approached the Apex Court in SLP 18904/2016 which is pending consideration. It is informed by the intervenor represented by Shri Pratip Visoriya, Advocate that claim by the Guest Faculty teachers is for regularization on the basis of their past services rendered.
6. Issue involved in the present PIL pertains to failure of the Government and the PSC to fill up large number of vacancies in the cadre of Asstt. Professor in Government colleges in the State of M.P.. Rights and liabilities which may be decided in the SLP No. 18904/2016 preferred by the Guest Faculty teachers have no bearing with the present issue though said Guest faculties are seeking regularization on the same vacant post which this PIL seeks to fill up on regular basis. Thus, this Court is of the considered view that it may not hold its hand till the decision in the said SLP. Moreso, whatever order is passed in this case today, shall invariably remain subject to final decision in SLPNo. 18904/2016.
7. In the conspectus of facts enumerated above and response of State and P.S.C, this court has no hesitation to hold that the 6 WP.5793/2015 State of M.P. and its functionaries have failed to fill up large number of vacancies in the cadre of Asstt. Professor in different Govt. Colleges in M.P., creating a situation where quality of higher education is adversely affected. The Government has adopted the convenient and temporary measure of appointing Guest Faculty on annual basis in brazen violation of statutory provision contained in clause 13.1 of the UGC Regulations, 2010 which is reproduced below:-
"The teachers should be appointed on contract basis only when it is absolutely necessary and when the student-teacher ratio does not satisfy the laid down norms. In any case, the number of such appointments should not exceed 10% of the total number of Faculty positions in a College / University. The qualifications and selection procedure for appointing them should be the same as those applicable to a regularly appointed teacher. The fixed emoluments paid to such contract teachers should not be less than the monthly gross salary of a regularly appointed Assistant Professor. Such appointments should not be made initially for more than one academic session, and the performance of any such entrant teacher should be reviewed for academic performance before reappointing her/him on contract basis for another session."
8. From the above statutory provision i.e. Clause 13.1 of UGC Regulations, it is evident that in no case the number of appointments to be made on contractual / temporary/ adhoc basis can exceed 10% of the total number of sanctional posts of Asstt. Professor in a College or University.
9. The State admitted that there are 2371 vacancies in the cadre of Asstt. Professor due to non-holding of regular selections. Many of these vacancies are manned by Guest Faculty appointed annually on contract / adhoc / temporary basis. Response of the State further discloses that in all the three Govt. colleges (Govt. College Lahar, Govt. College Alampur and Govt. College Mihona) of District Bhind all the sanctioned posts of Asstt. Professor are manned by Guest Faculty. This is an unhealthy situation which erodes the very 7 WP.5793/2015 foundation of higher education. It is common knowledge that temporary / adhoc / contractual appointment the appointee has no sense of permanency and security of employment and thus cannot perform in an effective and appropriate manner. Merit which is one of the corner stones of higher education is adversely affected by this novel method adopted by the State of repeatedly making adhoc / temporary / contractual appointments to avoid making one-time regular and permanent recruitment.
10. In view of the above, this Court while exercising its extraordinary writ jurisdiction allows this petition to the following extent by passing the following order :-
(i) The State and M.P.P.S.C. are directed to expedite filling up of all the vacancies in the cadre of Asstt. Professor in the Government Colleges situated within the 9 Districts falling within the territorial jurisdiction of this Bench i.e. Gwalior, Guna, Morena, Bhind, Vidisha, Ashoknagar, Datia , Shivpuri & Sheopur by taking appropriate steps in accordance with the statutory recruitment rules.
(ii) The above said exercise of recruitment and appointment against the said vacancies be completed before starting of the academic session of 2018-19.
(iii) The execution of aforesaid directions shall remain subject to any order passed in SLP No. 18904/2016 by the Apex Court.
(iv) The petitioner, who has raised a genuine cause of public interest, shall be allowed cost of this litigation to the extent of Rs. 5,000/- to be paid by State Government within a period of three months and compliance report in that regard be filed with the Registry of this Court immediately thereafter.
(Sheel Nagu) (S.A. Dharmadhikari) sarathe Judge Judge