A S MURTHY Vs. NAGARJUNA UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner an internationally reputed scientist had offered himself for selection as a Professor in Zoology in the first respondent-University conducted on February 11, 1985 in which the third respondent, Dr. T. Gopala Krishna Reddy was selected in preference to the petitioner. Assailing the legality thereof the petitioner has filed this writ petition.

(2.) It is not necessary to go into the relative academic qualifications or excellence of either the petitioner or the third respondent in staking their claims for selection as Professor for the purpose of disposing of the point in issue. Suffice to state that statute 15 of the first statutes under Sec. 28(1 J of the Nagarjuna University Act (Act 43 of 1976 for short "the Act") postulates : (1) There shall be constituted a selection committee in regard fo the appointment of teachers of and above the rank of Lecturers of colleges and institutions maintained by the University; (2) The Selection committee for the appointment to the posts specified in column (1) of the table below shall consist of the Vice-Chancellor, the Rector if any, and nominee of the Chancellor and the persons specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said table. Serial No. 1 of the Table postulates for Professorship thus :

(3.) The contention of the petitioner is that the nomination of three persons in the panel for their specialised knowledge of or interest in the subject was made by the Heads of the Departments as admitted in the counter affidavit and that therefore the constitution of the committee is not valid in law. The question therefore is whether the selection committee was validity constituted to select a professor in Zoology under statute 15 of the first statutes of the Act.