HC glare on adherence to VC eligibility criteria as Assam University chief’s appointment quashed

Gauhati High Court has set aside the appointment of Prof. Rajiv Mohan Pant as vice-chancellor of Assam University, Silchar, on eligibility grounds and laid down that search panels to select VCs must record in writing how each candidate fulfils the recruitment criteria.

Justice Unni Krishnan Nair delivered the judgment last week on a petition challenging the appointment of Pant although he did not meet the criteria laid down under University Grants Commission regulations. The UGC rules require a candidate to have at least 10 years’ experience as professor or as part of a reputed research and/or academic administrative organisation in a role equivalent to that of a professor.

The court found that the search-cum-selection panel set up by the MoE in 2021 did not do due diligence in ascertaining if Pant fulfilled the eligibility criteria.

“The Search & Selection Committee while recommending the candidates by conforming to the provisions of Regulation 7.3(ii) of the UGC Regulations, 2018, shall record in writing in respect of each candidate, how he or she had met the eligibility criteria and shall not defer such verification, as was, in the present case while shortlisting the respondent No. 6 (Pant), for the purpose,” the court order said.

Prof. Samira Behera, a faculty member of Assam University, had challenged the appointment of Pant in Gauhati High Court. Pant had contended that he had worked as a professor in the North-Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST) from August 2, 2007, to September 1, 2014, and then as director of the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Guwahati, for six years and seven months. Behara’s counsel, however, submitted that the NIRDPR cannot be considered a reputed organisation.

The court also pointed out that a VC candidate needs to accumulate 10 years’ experience in one role — not a combination of roles.

The respondent “cannot be held to be eligible for being recruited against the post of Vice-Chancellor”, the court concluded. It also ruled out Pant’s argument that he was on lien from his parent institution, NERIST, when he worked as NIRDPR director and therefore, his tenure there should be seen as a continuation of his role as professor.

The court noted that the search panel had shortlisted 31 candidates, including Pant, for the VC’s post in 2021 and they were called for personal interactions too. The minutes of a meeting of the search panel mention that Pant’s “shortlisting is subject to confirmation of eligibility”. The minutes of the subsequent meetings do not reveal “as to how satisfaction was drawn by the committee to the doubt expressed by it”, the court pointed out.

“Accordingly, it is apparent that the Search & Selection Committee had not carried out the selection by adhering to the provisions of Regulation 7.3(ii) of the UGC Regulations, 2018,” the judgment said.

Regulation 7.3(ii) governs the selection process and the constitution of search-cum-selection committees for appointing VCs.