NIJIRA BRAHMA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. I. Choudhury, learned Senior counsel, appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. K. K. Dey, learned Standing counsel, Bodoland University, appearing for respondent No. 3, Mr. K. Gogoi, learned Standing counsel, Education (Higher) Department, appearing for respondent Nos. 1 and 2 as well as Mr. P. Mahanta, learned counsel, appearing for respondent No. 4.

(2.) The case of the petitioner, in brief, as projected in the writ petition is that she had completed her graduation with First Class in Zoology from North Eastern Hills University (NEHU), Shillong, in the year 2006 and, thereafter, had also completed her post-graduation in Zoology from the same university. She had also appeared in Joint CSIR-UGC Test for Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lecturership (NET) held on 18.12.2011 and had cleared NET in the subject of Life Science. On 06.03.2012, an advertisement was issued by the Registrar, Bodoland University, inviting applications from eligible candidates having UGC norms for filling up of posts of Assistant Professor in various departments, including one post of Micro Biology, one post of Bio-resource/Environmental Biotechnology, one post of Biochemistry and one post of Animal Biotechnology in the Department of Biotech--nology. Pursuant to the said advertisement, the petitioner applied for the post of Assistant Professor in Bio-resource/Environmental Biotechnology. The petitioner was asked to appear before the Selection Committee on 27.07.2012 for interview through call letter dated 3.7.2012. The interview was deferred and was re-scheduled on 29.08.2012 and the petitioner had duly appeared in the said interview. However, the result of the interview was not published for a long time and when the petitioner visited the office of the respondent No. 3 in the later part of September, 2012, she came to learn that the respondent authorities had appointed four Assistant Professors in the Department of Biotechnology and that the post for Bio-resource/Environmental Biotechnology had also been filled up without publishing the result and/or publishing select list. The petitioner took recourse to Right to Information Act, 2005 (for short, "RTI Act") by filing an application on 26.09.2012 seeking the result-sheet and the names of the selected candidates in the Department of Biotechnology. The petitioner came to learn subsequently that the respondent No. 4 had been appointed as Assistant Professor, Animal Biotechnology, although the lone post of Animal Biotechnology, which had been notified in the advertisement, was filled up by appointing one Sandip Das. It is projected by the petitioner in the writ petition that selection for the posts of Assistant Professor which were to be made as per UGC regulations, 2010, had been conducted in a pre-determined and pre-conceived manner only to accommodate respondent No. 4 and, that too, without publishing any select list.

(3.) Accordingly, the petitioner has prayed for setting aside and quashing the order of appointment of respondent No. 4 to the post of Assistant Professor, Animal Biotechnology, with a further prayer for a direction to publish the select list in respect of the post of Assistant Professor, Biotechnology with specialization in Bio-resource/Environmental Biotechnology and to fill up the post as per the select list prepared pursuant to the interview held on 29.08.2012.