E-Paper
High court quashes selections of 1,158 assistant professors in Punjab
The dispute was over the recruitment of 1,158 assistant professors in Punjab colleges, being carried out after 19 years in 2021. The posts were advertised on October 19, 2021. The judgment was passed by the bench of justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu, acting on a clutch of petitions filed in 2021.
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Monday quashed the selection of 1,158 assistant professors in Punjab, the process for which had started in October 2021 ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
The judgment was passed by the bench of justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu, acting on a clutch of petitions filed in 2021. “The court has set aside the selections,” confirmed senior advocate and one of the leading counsels in the matter, Gurminder Singh.
The dispute was over the recruitment of 1,158 assistant professors in state colleges, being carried out after 19 years in 2021. The posts were advertised on October 19, 2021. On December 3, the HC had restrained the state government from going ahead with the recruitment following pleas challenging the recruitment criterion. The allegations were that the criterion was “wholly arbitrary and discriminatory” and granted weightage in lieu of work experience only to the guest faculty, part-timers and contract teachers working in colleges. It was also alleged that the question papers of Punjabi and mathematics were leaked well before the exams were conducted from November 20 to 22.
Taking note of the allegations, the court had ordered stay on appointments on December 3. However, later pleas were filed alleging that stay orders on appointments were violated and selection letters were issued on the night when order was passed by HC and in some cases with a back date. The HC on December 23 had directed the state government to seal record pertaining to recruitment and put it in the custody of the chief secretary.
