IMPORTANT POINT
Qualifications for lecturer appointments must be met at the time of appointment, and later-acquired qualifications do not retroactively qualify an individual.

JUDGMENT :

Shailesh P. Brahme, J.

Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard both the sides finally with their consent at the admission stage.

2. The petitioner who is working as a lecturer in the respondent No. 4 - college is seeking direction for granting him temporary approval for the period preceding to acquisition of M. Phil. degree and permanent approval from acquisition of M. Phil. He is also seeking disbursement of salary as per the Government Resolution dated 04 April, 2012.

3. The respondent No. 4 – Science college is affiliated to the respondent No. 3 - university and is run by the respondent No. 6- educational institution. The petitioner and respondent No. 5 are the employees of respondent No. 6. By letter dated 08.07.2003 issued by the respondent No. 3 - university addressed to respondent No. 4 – college, permission was granted to fill in various posts comprising of thirteen posts of lecturers in the subject of Computer Science on non grant basis. Later on vide Government Resolution dated 04.04.2012, four posts of Computer Science were brought on grant in aid basis.

4. We are called upon to determine as to whether the petitioner was having requisite qualification when he was appointed as a lecturer in Computer Science on 08.10.2003 and the qualification of M. Phil. acquired by him subsequently on 22.05.2009 can be treated as requisite qualification at the relevant time. To delve on the controversy, it is expedient to disclose the qualifications prescribed by the UGC and the changes brought up from time to time.

5. The University Grants Commission (for short 'UGC') would prescribes the qualification for appointment of teachers in various streams of education as per Section 26 of the University Grants Commission Act. By notification published in the month of March 2000, the minimum qualification for the post of lecturer in the Humanities, Social Science, Science, Commerce, Physical Education, Foreign Languages and Law was as follows :

“NET shall remain the compulsory requirement for appointment as Lecturer even for candidates having Ph.D. degree. However, the candidates who have completed M.Phil, degree or have submitted Ph. D. thesis in the concerned subject upto 31st December, 1993 are exempted from appearing in the NET examination.”

6. Thereafter, Regulation of 2000 was amended on 31 July 2002 and came to be recognized as First Amendment Regulation 2002 substituting the qualification for the post of lecturer as :

“NET shall remain the compulsory requirement for appointment as Lecturer even for candidates having Ph. D. degree. However, the candidates who have completed M. Phil degree by 31st December, 1993 or have submitted Ph. D. thesis to the university in the concerned subject on or before 31st December, 2002 are exempted from appearing in the NET examination. In case of such candidates fail to obtain Ph. D. degree, they shall have to pass the NET examination.”

7. Thereafter, second amendment was introduced with effect from 14.06.2006 substituting earlier qualification as follows :

“NET shall remain the compulsory requirement for appointment as Lecturer even for those with Post Graduate degree. However, the candidates having Ph. D. degree in the concerned subject are exempted from NET for PG level and UG level teaching. The candidates having M. Phil. degree in the concerned subject are exempted from NET for UG level teaching only.”

8. The third amendment was introduced in the Regulation on 11.07.2009 substituting earlier qualification in following terms :

“NET/SET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Lecturers in Universities/ Colleges/Institutions.

Provided, however, that candidates, who are or have been awarded Ph. D. degree in compliance of the “University Grants Commission (minimum standards and procedure for award of Ph. D. degree), Regulation 2009, shall be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SET for recruitment and appointment of As