Supreme Court Refuses To Cancel Assistant Professor’s Appointment Despite Doubt Over Ph.D.; Orders Fresh Probe Into Degree
The Supreme Court has refused to cancel the appointment of an Assistant Professor despite prima facie material raising serious questions over the authenticity of the Ph.D. degree submitted by him, holding that the doctoral degree was not an essential qualification for the post. A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Manmohan held that the Assistant Professor had independently satisfied the…
The Supreme Court has maintained the appointment of an Assistant Professor despite doubts surrounding the authenticity of his Ph.D. degree, emphasizing that the doctoral degree was not an essential requirement for the position. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan ruled that the Assistant Professor had fulfilled the mandatory eligibility criterion through successful completion of the UGC-NET examination.
However, the court directed Maharshi Dayanand University to initiate a fresh investigation into the validity of the doctoral degree due to documents indicating possible forgery. The case concerns the appointment of an Assistant Professor of Physical Education at Sat Jinda Kalyana College, Rohtak, affiliated with Maharshi Dayanand University.
The appellants, who lost out on the appointment, challenged the selection, questioning the legitimacy of the respondent's Ph.D., allegedly awarded by Bundelkhand University, Jhansi. The high court dismissed the challenge earlier, primarily due to the appellants' lack of representation in the merit list. The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the high court's decision on the appointment.
According to the court, the sixth respondent had cleared the UGC-NET, thus meeting the necessary qualification criteria. However, the court noted that the Ph.D. was a desirable qualification rather than an essential one. The court observed that the assistant professor could not be dismissed solely based on doubts over his Ph.D., as he had fulfilled the mandatory qualification requirement through the NET examination.
The court highlighted the potential impact of the disputed Ph.D. on the candidate's ranking in the merit list. The Supreme Court also noted that the validity of the Ph.D. could have influenced the candidate's position in the merit list and stated that it could not disregard the concerns raised over the authenticity of the doctoral degree.
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