K D RAMSIEJ Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is filed by the two petitioners in the form of a public interest litigation seeking for a Writ of Mandamus restraining the University Respondent from giving effect to the appointment of Respondents No. 7 and 8 as Professor and Reader in the Department of Philosophy and also for issuing a Writ of Certiorari quashing and setting aside the appointment of Respondents No. 7 and 8 as Professor and Reader in the Department of Philosophy, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, for short "nehu". The prayer made in the petition is extracted below :-

(2.) THE Petitioner No. 1 who is a Research Scholar in Philosophy was a candidate for selection to the post of Reader in Philosophy and petitioner No. 2 is a Professor in the Centre for Science Education in the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong and he was not a candidate against any of the two posts against which Respondents No. 7 and 8 have been appointed. In-fact, two years after the appointment of the Respondents No. 7 and 8 as Professor and Reader in the Department of Philosophy, NEHU, their appointments came to be challenged in this petition on various grounds, inter alia, notification of vacancies was published only in three national dailies instead of four, the Respondent No. 7 did not have the requisite qualification for being eligible for appointment to the post of Professor, Respondent No. 8 did not have consistently good academic record, improper selection and nomination of experts in the Selection Committee, failure to call Dr. S. Behera from Sambalpur (Orissa) and Dr. K. P. Mohat from St. Anthony's College, Shillong for interview etc.

(3.) SUBSTANTIALLY and essentially, the challenge in this writ petition is to the advertisement, selection process and qualification of Respondents No. 7 and 8, qualification of experts, recommendations made by the Selection Committee and appointment of the Respondents No. 7 and 8 and, as such, the instant PIL is a case relating to service matter.