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The relief claimed in this petition is to direct the respondents to allow the petitioners to participate in the selection process commenced on the basis of advertisement inviting applications for the post of Assistant Professor. Notably, in the petition averment is made that petitioner is postgraduate in subject History. He has also obtained M.Phil degree in the year 2008-2009. In para 5.3 of the petitioner it is, however, admitted that petitioner was registered for Ph.D in subject History on 27.07.2009 prior to enforcement of Regulations, 2009. The fact remains that petitioner has ndot been awarded Ph.D degree in accordance with the Regulations, 2009, which alone is exempted in terms of Regulation 4.4.1 of the Regulations of 2010. This issue has been considered by us in WP No.7064/2016 and answered against the writ petitioner. That decision has been followed in subsequent petitions involving the same contention.

"NET/SLET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Lecturers in Universities/Colleges/institutions.

Provided however that candidates who are or have been awarded Ph.D. Degree in compliance of the "University Grants Commission (minimum standards and procedure for award of Ph.D Degree) Regulation 2009 shall be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professor or equivalent position in Universities/Colleges/Institutions."

The Supreme Court has also noted para 3.3.1 of Regulation 2010 in para 7 of the judgment which reads as under:

"3.3.1. NET/SLET/SET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointments of Assistant Professors in Universities/Collages/Institutions.
Provided however, that candidates, who are or have been awarded a Ph.D. Degree in accordance with the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations,2009, shall be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET/SET for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professor equivalent positions in Universities/Colleges/Institutions."

In the advertisement Annex.P-1 the same minimum eligibility condition has been prescribed which is required by third amendment of the Regulations 2009 as also the Regulations of 2010.

The Supreme court in the aforesaid judgment has upheld these regulations by holding as under:

12.It is clear that Section 26 enables the Commission to make regulations only if they are consistent with the UGC Act. This necessarily means that such regulations must conform to Section 20 of the Act and under Section 20 of the Act the Central Government is given the power to give directions on questions of policy relating to national purposes which shall guide the Commission in the discharge of its functions under the Act. It is clear, therefore, that both the directions of 12th November,2008 and 30th March,2010 are directions made pertaining to questions of policy relating to national purposes inasmuch as, being based on the Mungekar Committee Report, the Central Government felt that a common uniform nationwide test should be a minimum eligibility condition for recruitment for the appointment of Lecturer/Assistant Professors in Universities/Colleges/Institutions. This is for the obvious reason that M.Phil. Degrees or Ph.D. Degrees are granted by different Universities/Institutions having differing standards of excellence. It is quite possible to conceive of M.Phil/ Ph.D. Degrees being granted by several Universities which did not have stringent standards of excellence. Considering as a matter of policy that the appointment of Lecturers/Assistant Professors in all institutions governed by the UGC Act (which are institutions all over the country), the need was felt to have in addition a national entrance test as a minimum eligibility condition being an additional qualification which has become necessary in view of wide disparities in the granting of M.Phil/Ph.D. Degrees by various Universities/Institutions. The object sought to be achieved by these directions is clear: that all lecturers in Universities/Colleges/Institutions governed by the UGC Act should have a certain minimum standard of excellence before they are appointed as such. These directions are not only made in exercise of powers under Section 20 of the Act but are made to provide for coordination and determination of standards which lies at the very core of the UGC Act. It is clear, therefore, that any regulation made under Section 26 must conform to directions issued by the Central Government under Section 20 of the Act.