1. Appointment to Professor post — Dispute over eligibility based on teaching experience requirements — Counting of experience as Demonstrator. (Para 2 )
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1998 Supreme(SC) 287
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
A.P.Misra : M.Srinivasan : S.C.Agrawal
U.P.Public Service Commission
Versus
Saad Usmani
Case No. : 1269 of 1998
Date of Decision : 3/2/98
Experience as a Demonstrator counts toward the total teaching experience for a Professor's appointment only if it is full-time and acquired after obtaining a postgraduate qualification as a Clinical Registrar Demonstrator.
Headnote:(A) Service Law - Appointment to the post of Professor - Eligibility and Teaching Experience - Requirement of ten years teaching experience, including three years as Reader - Experience as Demonstrator to be counted only if: (i) it is on a full-time basis, and (ii) it is acquired after obtaining postgraduate qualification on the post of Clinical Registrar Demonstrator - If the candidate does not possess the postgraduate qualification, the period as Demonstrator cannot be counted towards the total teaching experience - Commission's decision to exclude such experience is valid. (Paras 4, 5)
Facts of the case:
A candidate applied for the post of Professor in a medical subject. The essential qualification required ten years of teaching experience, including three years as a Reader. The candidate had worked as a full-time Demonstrator, then as a Lecturer, and subsequently as a Reader. The Commission excluded the period as Demonstrator from the total experience, leading the candidate to challenge the decision in the High Court, which ruled that the experience as a full-time Demonstrator should be counted.
Findings of Court:
The candidate satisfied the condition of being a full-time Demonstrator but failed to satisfy the condition of possessing a postgraduate qualification during that tenure. Consequently, the experience as a Demonstrator could not be taken into account, and the candidate did not possess the requisite ten years of teaching experience.
Issues: Whether the experience gained as a Demonstrator without a postgraduate qualification could be counted towards the requisite ten years of teaching experience for appointment to the post of Professor.
Ratio Decidendi: For experience as a Demonstrator to be counted towards the total teaching experience for the post of Professor, it must be on a full-time basis and must have been acquired after obtaining a postgraduate qualification on the post of Clinical Registrar Demonstrator.
Result: Appeal allowed.
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2. Whether experience as a full-time Demonstrator should be counted toward the total teaching experience required for appointment to the post of Professor. (Para 3 )
3. Experience as Demonstrator is countable only if it is full-time and acquired after obtaining a postgraduate qualification as a Clinical Registrar Demonstrator. (Para 4 , 5 )
4. Teaching experience as a Demonstrator must satisfy specific criteria, including postgraduate qualification, to be counted toward eligibility for higher academic appointments. (Para 4 , 5 )
5. Appeal allowed — High Court judgment set aside — Writ petition dismissed. (Para 6 )
6. When can experience as a Demonstrator be counted toward the teaching experience required for a Professor's post?
Experience as a Demonstrator is countable if it is on a full-time basis and acquired after the individual has obtained a postgraduate qualification on the post of Clinical Registrar Demonstrator. (Para 4 , 5 )
7. Does full-time employment as a Demonstrator automatically satisfy the eligibility criteria for counting teaching experience?
No, full-time employment is only one of the necessary conditions; the candidate must also possess a postgraduate qualification to have that experience counted. (Para 4 , 5 )
(1) SPECIAL leave granted.
(2) THIS appeal relates to appointment on the post of Professor in "Moalejat" (Medicine) in government Unani Colleges in U.P. The U.P. public service commission (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission") issued an advertisement inviting applications for two posts of Professors in Moalejat. One of the essential qualifications prescribed for the said post was: "Ten years teaching experience of the subject (eight years only in case of postgraduate) including three years on the post of Reader in a recognised institution". Dr Saad Usmani, respondent herein, was one of the applicants for the said post. The question is whether he was eligible for consideration for appointment on the post. The respondent had worked as permanent Demonstrator between 15/5/1980 to 30/10/1988. With effect from 31-10- 1988 till 22/11/1990 the respondent worked as Lecturer in Moalejat. From 23/11/1990 onwards the respondent had worked as Reader in "Kulliyat" (Fundamentals of Medical Science). The Commission was of the view that the respondent did not possess the requisite teaching experience and he was not called for interview. He filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High court which has been allowed by the impugned judgment.
(3) BEFORE the High court the case of the respondent was that his experience as Demonstrator should be taken into consideration for the purpose of computing the requirement of ten years teaching experience and reliance was placed on the decision of the Commission dated 30/10/1992, The High court has accepted the said submission of the respondent and has held that since the respondent was employed as a full-time Demonstrator his experience as Demonstrator from 15/5/1980 to 30/10/1988 should be counted and since the respondent had worked as Lecturer and also as Reader for three years, he had the requisite ten years experience.
(4) SHRI R.B. Misra, the learned counsel for the appellant, has placed before us a copy of the decision of the Commission dated 30/10/1992 which shows that for the purpose of counting of experience as Demonstrator two conditions are necessary:
(i) the experience must be as a Demonstrator on full-time basis and not as a part-time Demonstrator; and
(II) the experience as Demonstrator should have been after acquiring postgraduate qualification on the post of Clinical Registrar Demonstrator.
(5) THE respondent satisfied the first condition inasmuch as he had worked as a full-time Demonstrator but he did not satisfy the second condition since he did not possess a postgraduate qualification. In view of the decision of the Commission dated 30/10/1992 the experience of the respondent on the post of Demonstrator could not, therefore, be taken into account and if the period the respondent worked as Demonstrator is excluded he did not have the requisite ten years teaching experience. There was, therefore, no infirmity in the view of the Commission that the respondent did not possess the requisite qualification prescribed for the post of Professor in Moalejat. The High court, in our opinion, was in error in holding that the respondent fulfilled the conditions of eligibility and was wrongly denied consideration for the post of Professor in Moalejat by the Commission.
(6) THE appeal is, therefore, allowed, the impugned judgment of the High court is set aside and the writ petition filed by the respondent is dismissed.
NO order as to costs.
