Himachal HC Turns Down Appointment Of Assistant Professor Over Change In Eligibility Criteria

Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has annulled the appointment of an Assistant Professor in Agricultural Biotechnology at Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSK HPKV), Palampur, holding that the university’s selection committee overstepped its authority by altering the eligibility criteria laid down in the recruitment advertisement.

Delivering a common judgment on two petitions filed by Pankaj Kumar Singh and Sunny Choudhary, Justice Sandeep Sharma ruled that the selection body could not consider candidates who lacked the advertised qualification of M.Sc. in Agricultural Biotechnology.

No Provision For “Equivalent Qualification”

The case stemmed from a recruitment advertisement issued in March 2019, which explicitly required an M.Sc. degree in Agricultural Biotechnology. The court noted that the advertisement contained no clause allowing equivalent qualifications.

Despite this, the selection committee permitted candidates holding M.Sc. Biotechnology degrees to apply, relying on “equivalence certificates” issued by the university registrar. The court found these certificates invalid, stressing that such authority rests only with a duly constituted expert body, not an administrative officer.

“The Selection Committee, without there being any authority from the University, could not have altered the eligibility criteria,” Justice Sharma observed. He further remarked that changing requirements “midstream” undermined the principles of fairness and the rule of law in public recruitment.

Petitions Against Ineligible Candidates

The petitions challenged the appointment of two candidates, including the one ultimately selected, on grounds that they did not possess the prescribed degree. After reviewing the records, the court concluded that the appointments were unsustainable, as the chosen candidates were ineligible under the terms of the original advertisement.

Court’s Power To Intervene

While acknowledging that courts generally defer to academic and expert decisions, Justice Sharma cited Supreme Court precedents to emphasize that judicial intervention is warranted where there is “illegality or patent material irregularity” in the process.

Accordingly, the court directed CSK HPKV to offer the position to the next eligible candidate on the merit list, strictly in line with the law.

Upholding Recruitment Integrity

The judgment reinforces a key principle: eligibility criteria specified in recruitment advertisements are binding and can’t be altered once the process begins. Any relaxation, modification, or acceptance of equivalent qualifications must be determined in advance by a competent expert body and not improvised by a selection committee.

Furthermore, the court underscored that transparency and adherence to prescribed qualifications are essential to maintaining fairness in public employment.