ANTONY DOMINIC, J.

1. The first respondent in these appeals filed W.P. (C) No. 25694 of 2005 disputing the eligibility of the appellant in W.A. No. 737 of 2010 for appointment to the post of Reader in Political Science in the Kerala University.

2. In the judgment under appeal, following the principles laid down by the Division Bench of this Court in Vijayachandran Pillai vs. University of Calicut, 2009 (3) KLT 176 and Vasundhara vs. Sallas Benjamin, 2010 (1) KLT 533, it was held that the experience prescribed should be one acquired after obtaining basic educational qualifications for the post and that since the appellant in W.A. No. 737 of 2010 did not possess the prescribed experience, his selection and appointment to the post of Reader in Political Science was illegal. In W.A. No. 737 of 2010, this judgment is challenged by the 4th respondent in the writ petition, whose appointment was set aside. W.A. No. 987 of 2010 is filed by the University of Kerala and the Selection Committee for appointment of teachers.

3. When the appeals were heard by a Division Bench, order dated 6/8/2010 was passed doubting the correctness of the principles laid down in Vijayachandran Pillai's case (supra) and Vasundhara's case (supra) that for appointment to the post of Reader in Calicut University, the experience prescribed will be satisfied only if it was acquired after obtaining the basic educational qualifications. It is accordingly that these cases came up for consideration before a Full Bench.

4. In the Kerala University Act, 1974, (hereinafter referred to as the Act for short), teacher has been defined in Section 2(27) to mean Principal, Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Reader, Lecturer, Instructor or such other person imparting instructions or supervising research in any of the colleges or recognised institutions and whose appointment has been approved by the University. In exercise of its powers under Section 83 of the Act, the State Government have made the Kerala University First Statutes, 1977. Chapter 3 of the First Statutes deals with teachers of the University. Statute 5 provides that no teacher shall be eligible for appointment in the University unless he possesses such qualifications as may be prescribed by the regulations made by the Academic Council. It is also provided that the applicants shall be required to possess the prescribed qualifications at the time of submitting their applications.

5. In exercise of its powers under Statute 5, the Kerala University Regulations relating to qualifications of teachers have been framed by the Academic Council. Regulation 2 prescribes the qualifications for Reader (Open), which, being relevant, is extracted below for easy reference:-

"2. Reader (Open) – Good academic record with a doctoral degree or equivalent published work. Candidates from outside the University system in addition shall also possess at least 55% marks or an equivalent grade at the Master's degree level. Eight years experience of teaching and/or research including upto 3 years for research degrees and has made some mark in the areas of Scholarship as evidenced by quality of publications, contribution to educational renovation, design of new courses and curricula.

Candidates from outside the University system means candidates working in institutions other than colleges and Universities, deemed Universities and Institutions which are imparting education beyond + 12 schooling."

6. In compliance with the above statutory provisions and specifying the aforesaid qualifications, the Kerala University issued notification dated 3/11/2004 inviting applications for the post of Reader in Political Science in the University. In the selection that followed, the appellant in W.A. No. 737 of 2010 was selected. The contention that was accepted by the learned single Judge was that since he had acquired the Degree of Ph. D only on 27/11/2004, he did not have the prescribed "8" years experience of teaching and