A.N.Varma - (1.) THIS petition is directed against an order of the Chancellor of the Meerut University dated 24-10-83 setting aside the appointment of the petitioner as a lecturer in Military Science in the S. S. V. (P G.) College Hapur District Ghaziabad which is a Post Graduate College affiliated to the Meerut University.
(2.) IN response to an advertisement for the post of lecturer in the Military Science the petitioner applied and was selected by the Selection Committee. A letter of appointment was also issued to her in pursuance of the same and she joined on 21-8-81. However, her appointment was disapproved by the Vice Chancellor on the ground that the advertisement was only for one post and consequently she could not be appointed to fill up the second post which had fallen vacant. Thereafter, a fresh advertisement was issued and she was again appointed on 19-10-82 pursuant to the approval of the Vice-Chancellor given on 18-10-82. This was challenged by the respondent no. 3 Sri Ram Awatar. Sri Ram Awatar had appeared before the Selection Committee only at the first selection and was not approved. He did not appear at the subsequent selection held to fill up the second post. He made a representation under section 68 of the U. P. State Universities Act, which led to the impugned order passed by the Chancellor on 24-10-82. The Chancellor while holding that Sri Ram Awatar has no locus standi to file the representation inasmuch as he had not appeared before the Selection Committee, set aside the order of the Vice-Chancellor acting suo moto. The approval of the Vice Chancellor has been set aside by the Chancellor on two grounds; first, that the patitioner did not possess the requisite minimum qualification, namely, a Master's degree in the concerned subject namely, Military Science; second that the recommendation of the Selection Committee in favour of the petitioner was not based on a majority decision. It does not seem necessary to dilate on the first ground on which the Chancellor was persuaded to exercise his suo moto powers inasmuch as even before the Chancellor passed the impugned order the petitioner had obtained the Master's degree in Military Science in first division. In view of the this fact, the Chancellor was not justified in setting aside the Vice Chancellor's order in exercise of his suo moto powers, particularly, in view of the fact that the only ground on which the members of the Selection Committee differed as to the suitability of the petitioner's candidature for the post was that the petitioner did not have the requisite minimum qualification. Two experts who sat on the Selection Committee were of the opinion that in view of the high quality of published work which the petitioner had to her credit, the minimum qualification, namely, Master's degree in the concerned subject may be waived in her case. The remaining three members were of the opinion that legally such a waiver was not permissible.
(3.) BE that as it may, the fact remains that the petitioner having come to possess the requisite minimum qualification prior to the passing of the impugned order, the Chancellor ought not to have set aside the approval accorded by the Vice-Chancellor. Coming to the second ground. The Chancellor appears to have laboured under some misapprehension as to the manner in which the decision was arrived at by the Selection Committee. As mentioned above, there was no difference amongst the members as to the suitability of the petitioner's candidature. The only difference was with regard to whether legally the Master's degree which was the prescribed minimum qualification under the Meerut University statutes could be waived that difference of opinion also paled into insignificance in view of the fact that the petitioner came to acquire that minimum qualification by securing Master's degree in first division in the subject concerned. Thus in either view of the matter, the Chancellor's order cannot be sustained.;