Delhi High Court reads down UGC regulation which allowed hiring assistant professors based solely on interview

The Delhi High Court recently read down the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation which allowed the selection of assistant professors (entry-level academics) based solely on interviews.  

A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla did not strike down clause 4.1.I.B of the UGC Guidelines outright but said that provisions cannot be allowed to stand as it is vulnerable to arbitrariness and would violate Articles 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution. 

Hence, the Bench said that the clause must be read down to disallow selection based on interviews alone.

“Clause 4.1.I.B, therefore, does not deserve to be struck down as unconstitutional per se. However, it must be read down to mean that the said clause cannot be construed as permitting or legitimising a wholly unstructured, unguided and exclusively interview-based selection process. Any interpretation to the contrary would render the selection vulnerable to arbitrariness and would violate Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India,” the Court said. 

It also held that a seat reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) cannot be converted into a post reserved for PwBD candidates from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

The Bench rendered these findings while quashing the recruitment process adopted by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) for a PwD candidate. 

It allowed a petition filed by Dr Sachin Kumar, a candidate with 75 per cent locomotor disability, who had challenged NIEPA’s refusal to appoint any PwD candidate to the post of assistant professor despite the vacancy being reserved.

Further, the Court directed NIEPA to re-advertise the PwD-reserved assistant professor post within eight weeks, retaining its original reservation status and adopting a lawful selection framework.

CGSC Raj Kumar with advocates Vandana Sachdeva, Ankit Choudhary and Sumit Choudhary represented Respondent No 3. 

Senior Advocate Swathi Sukumar with advocates Rishabh Sharma, Ambica Sood and Ritik Raghuwanshi appeared for petitioner Dr Sachin Kumar. 

NIEPA was represented through advocates Amitesh Kumar, Priti Kumari and Pankaj Kumar Ray. 

Advocates Parmanand Gaur, Vibhav Mishra and Megha Gaur represented UGC. 

[Read Judgment]