P K RADHAKRISHNAN Vs. MAHATHMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner entered service of the M.G. University as a Lecturer on 04/12/1987 in the faculty of School of Chemical Sciences. The third respondent joined the service of the University as Lecturer in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences on 20/02/1988.

(2.) On the basis of the notification No. 1726/89/A11(1) Admn. dated 04/01/1990, the University, through its Registrar, invited applications for appointment to, among other posts, one post of Reader in Bio chemistry in the School of Basic Medical Sciences. The Selection Committee found Dr. P. Harikumar as the one entitled to be selected and recommended his name for appointment. He was the only person who was selected in the selection by interview held on 27/02/1991. That selection of Dr. P. Harikumar was challenged by the third respondent by filing OP No. 3080 of 1991. Though there was an interlocutory order in that case on CMP No. 5385 of 1991 directing that Dr. P. Harikumar is not to be admitted to the post of Reader in Bio chemistry, the selected candidate Dr. P. Harikumar ultimately reported that he is not willing to join the service as Reader in Bio chemistry in the M.G. University. On record, by that time, was the counter affidavit of the University asserting its stand that the selection of Dr. P. Harikumar was in order. However, in view of the submission made before this Court on 01/06/1994 on behalf of Dr. P. Harikumar, who was the second respondent in OP 3080 of 1991 that he is not willing to join the service as Reader, the original petition was treated as not surviving and was hence disposed of by judgment dated 01/06/1994, obviously, without entering into merits. The aforesaid facts relating to OP No. 3080 of 1991 has been noticed from the file of that case forming part of the records of this Court.

(3.) The aforesaid would show that the selection of Dr. P. Harikumar in the interview held on 27/02/1991 was not interfered with by this Court and it therefore stood, however that, Dr. P. Harikumar did not join. This resulted in the occurrence of the situation where that vacancy remained unfilled. As already noticed, there was no select list of more candidates and Dr. P. Harikumar was the sole candidate selected for the post. This means that, there was no select list available to make any alternate appointment in the event of Dr. P. Harikumar's failure to join duty. The vacancy thus not having been filled following the interview on 27/02/1991, the selection and appointment to that vacancy required to be done de novo. There can be no doubt about this, formidable support to which can be found in the judgments of the Apex Court in State of Punjab v. Raghubir Chand Sharma, JT 2001 (9) SC 266 and Thrissur District Cooperative Bank Limited v. Delson Davis, JT 2002 (2) SC 329 : 2002 KHC 177 : 2002 (1) KLT 852.