NISHA VELLAPAN NAIR Vs. MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the above appeals arise from the judgment in W.P. (C) No.1861 of 2020 and they are, therefore, disposed of by this common judgment. Among the appeals, W.A.No.957 of 2022 is by the petitioner in the writ petition and W.A.No.1071 of 2022 is by the second respondent in the writ petition. Parties and documents are referred to in this judgment for convenience, as they appear in the writ petition.

(2.) The matter relates to selection for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in the School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies (the School) under the Mahatma Gandhi University (the University).

(3.) Ext.P1 is the notification issued by the University for the selection. In terms of the notification, out of the three vacancies, two were reserved for candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes and one for candidates belonging to General Category. The petitioner as also the second respondent applied for selection pursuant to Ext.P1 notification against the vacancy earmarked for General Category candidates. It is stated that the University evolved a scheme for evaluation of the merits of the candidates in which 20 marks were set apart for the interview and 80 marks for different other criteria. The petitioner who secured second rank in the selection was awarded 46.61 marks out of 100 and the second respondent who secured first rank in the selection was awarded 49.40 marks out of 100. The second respondent was consequently selected and appointed. The selection and appointment of the second respondent were impugned in the writ petition.