HARADHAN MAITY Vs. INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenging the legality of the appointment of the private respondent no. 10, Dr. Sankar Sarkar, as an Assistant Professor of Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit in Indian Statistical Institute, respondent no. 1, the petitioner has preferred the writ petition being WPA 7680 of 2020. On the other hand, the petitioner has preferred the second writ petition being WPA 7682 of 2020 challenging the legality of the appointments of the private respondent nos. 11 and 12 namely Dr. Ramiz Rahaman and Dr. Swapan Rana as well as the appointment of private respondent no. 10, the said Dr. Sankar Sarkar. Since both the writ petitions are based on some similar set of facts and the reliefs sought for therein may be addressed by a common judgment, both the writ petitions were taken up together for hearing.

(2.) Shorn of details, the facts which led to filing of the writ petition being WPA 7680 of 2020 may be stated as under: The petitioner Dr. Haradhan Maity is a permanently handicapped person with 60% disability and he belongs to the category of persons with disability (PwD). On the basis of his final result, the Indian Statistical Institute, the respondent no. 1 herein, by an office order dtd. 29/7/2008 awarded Junior Research Fellowship to him in Physics and Applied Mathematics unit of the Institute for one year, i.e., 2008-09. This term of one year was extended from time to time by the ISI authority. He successfully completed the Research Fellowship Programme in the year 2015 and was awarded with Ph.D. degree. A certificate to that effect was issued to him by the Indian Statistical Institute. On 30/8/2016, the petitioner made an application attaching his updated curriculum vitae thereto through e-mail to the authority concerned seeking appointment as a faculty member in the Indian Statistical Institute. On the applications made by him under the Right to Information Act, 2005, a copy of an office order dtd. 2/3/2017 issued by the Director, Indian Statistical Institute was handed over to him on 11/1/2019. This office order specifies the Recruitment Rules for faculty members of the Indian Statistical Institute. As per the aforesaid Recruitment Rules, the petitioner was eligible for getting appointment either to the post of Assistant Professor (on contract) or to the post of Assistant Professor in reference to his application dtd. 30/8/2016. As to appointment as an Assistant Professor, a candidate must have a Ph.D. degree in the appropriate branch and should have at least 3 years (relaxable in exceptional cases) of post doctoral research/teaching/industrial experience. However, the phrase relaxable in exceptional cases has not been explained in the Recruitment Rules. The petitioner with the prospective view and ambition, again made an application to the Director, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta seeking appointment as a Faculty member under the persons with disability (PwD) category on 12/5/2017. As regards his first application dtd. 30/8/2016, the institute authority informed him unofficially that due to embargo imposed on recruitment process, his application could not be processed for the time being. However, once the embargo was lifted, his application would be considered. But with regard to his second application dtd. 12/5/2017, the respondent authority was yet to take any decision. The petitioner became astonished to find in the website that one Dr. Sankar Sarkar, the private respondent no. 10 of Civil Engineering background was appointed as an Assistant Professor in Physics and Applied Mathematics unit in the Indian Statistical Institute despite the embargo was in force. Afflicted with abysmal state of mind, the petitioner made application under the Right to Information Act on 15/1/2018 to the respondent authority seeking specific information as to the basis for giving appointment to Dr. Sankar Sarkar. In the same application, he sought for information whether any advertisement was published for the post of Physics and Applied Mathematics and if any, the date of publication as well as the copy of the Recruitment Rules. On 16/1/2018, the petitioner by way of a reminder letter dtd. 16/1/2018 requested the Professor-in-Charge of the Physics and Applied Sciences Division and the Head of the Department of the Physics and Applied Mathematics unit to consider his applications for appointment as Assistant Professor submitted on 30/8/2016 and 12/5/2017. In response to his reminder letter dtd. 16/1/2017, the Professor-in-Charge, Physics and Earth Division, Indian Statistical Institute, informed him through e-mail dtd. 28/1/2018 that curriculum vitae was received by the institute authority but after perusal of the same, it was observed that the petitioner did not possess the required 3 years of post doctoral research experience and thereby his application was rejected in a round about expression. Subsequently, the Senior Administrative Officer and Central Public Information Officer of the Institute informed the petitioner under the Right to Information Act that Dr. Sankar Sarkar was given the appointment on the basis of a rolling advertisement published in the Institute's website and after due process and recommendation by the Selection Committee. Not being satisfied with the information furnished by the Institute authority, the petitioner, to get proper clarification, made another application under the Right to Information Act, on 12/3/2018 seeking copy of the rolling advertisement. In reply thereto, the Senior Administrative Officer and Central Public Information Officer on 11/4/2018, citing irrational reasoning, failed to provide any copy of the rolling advertisement to him. However, he was supplied with a copy of the Recruitment Rules of the Indian Statistical Institute as prevailed on 30/8/2016. As to his query, the Institute authority conveyed untrue information to him that as against the rolling advertisement, numerous applications were received. Being dissatisfied with the information furnished by the Indian Statistical Institute authority, the petitioner made a representation to the Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and the President, Indian Statistical Institute seeking consideration of his applications dtd. 30/8/2016 and 12/5/2017. In the letter dtd. 3/7/2018 addressed to the Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and others, the petitioner highlighted that though embargo was imposed as to recruitment of Faculty Member during the period from 14/7/2014 to April, 2016, the private respondent, Dr. Sankar Sarkar, was appointed on the basis of his application dtd. 27/11/2015 whereas, it was intimated to him that his application seeking appointment would be considered after the embargo was lifted.

(3.) In the Writ petition being WPA 7682 of 2020, the petitioner Dr. Haradhan Maity states that while his grievances ventilated before the authority concerned were under consideration, the Indian Statistical Institute published an advertisement on 14/6/2018 inviting applications to the post of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor from suitable candidates for its various research divisions. In response to the advertisement, the petitioner made application to the Applied Statistics Division, Physics and Earth Sciences Division and the Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics Division. But surprisingly, the ISI authority on consideration of their applications, appointed respondent nos. 11 and 12 namely, Dr. Ramiz Rahaman and Dr. Swapan Rana in the Department of Physics and Applied Mathematics for which the petitioner applied in response to the advertisement dtd. 14/6/2018. The petitioner alleges that the authority concerned did not consider his application, nor it even called him before the interview without any justifiable reason. The petitioner, who is a student of the Indian Statistical Institute and having much acclaimed and adorable achievements to his credit along with commendable educational standards throughout, was illegally denied the appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Physics and Applied Mathematics. Challenging the appointment of the private respondent nos. 11 and 12 and seeking his appointment as an Assistant Professor in the aforesaid subject, the petitioner by preferring this writ petition, inter alia, seeks the following reliefs: