ITY PATNI Vs. UNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has prayed that the respondent- University of Rajasthan (hereafter 'the UOR') be directed to treat the degree of Masters in Business Administration (hereafter 'MBA') as equivalent to M.Com in Business Administration and accordingly consider her eligible for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor (Business Administration) in the Department of Commerce, UOR.

(2.) Ordinance 141E of the UOR Ordinances deals with the faculties of Arts, Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, Commerce, Law and subjects of Library Science, Drawings and Paintings and Mass Communication. For the purposes of appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in the aforesaid faculties, candidates are inter-alia required to have a good academic record with at least 55% marks (or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed) at the Master's Degree level in a relevant subject (underlining mine) from an Indian University or an equivalent degree from an accredited foreign University.

(3.) The petitioner has passed her MBA in the first division from the Rajasthan Technical University. She states that a MBA is a post graduate qualification in Business Administration and as the petitioner has a first division therein, she satisfies the academic requirement under Ordinance 141-E of the UOR Ordinances for appointment as Assistant Professor (Business Administration) in the Department of Commerce, UOR. It has been submitted that however the respondent-UOR seeking to undercut the petitioner's chances subsequent to the advertisement dated 22.5.2017 inviting applications inter-alia for the post of Assistant Professor (Business Administration), Department of Commerce, proceeded to issue a purported "important information" on 27.4.2018, inter- alia providing that for the post of Assistant Professor (Business Administration), the applicants must be M.Com (Business Administration) and not post graduate in other streams of commerce or management. It has been alleged that this tantamounts to a change in the Rules of the game midway in the process of appointment to the post of Assistant Professors (Business Administration) in the Department of Commerce, UOR and is not legally sustainable. It has been submitted that a degree of Masters (Business Administration) is equivalent to a M.Com. (Business Administration). Reliance in support of the contention has been placed on the judgment of this Court in the case of Kailash Chandra Meena and Others Versus Rajasthan Public Service Commission and others (SBCWP No. 18837/2012) and another connected matter; decided on 27.4.2013. It has been submitted that the Court in the aforesaid judgment held that a MBA with specialization in functional and related areas as also in Masters of Human Resource Management (MHRM), Management Information Base (MIB) and Masters in Management Studies (MMS) as equivalent to M.Com (Business Administration). It has been submitted that in this view of the matter, the purported "important information" dated 27.4.2018 issued by the UOR is of no avail and the petitioner with a M.B.A. is entitled to be considered for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor (Business Administration) in the Department of Commerce, UOR.