The court affirmed that statutory compliance is essential for appointments in educational institutions, and the doctrine of negative equality cannot be invoked to claim rights based on prior incorrect decisions.

JUDGMENT :

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, C.J.

1. Aggrieved by the judgment passed by the learned Writ Court, the writ petitioner/appellant has filed the instant Letters Patent Appeal.

2. The parties shall be referred to as they were before the learned Writ Court.

3. The writ petitioner had filed the writ petition for the grant of following substantial reliefs:-

“…. for issuance of an appropriate Writ(s)/Order(s)/direction(s) commanding upon the Respondents to pay his due salary, amount of D.A. admissible from time to time with penal interest since 06.07.2013 to till today as he has worked as an Assistant Professor of Geology during the above period in St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh against sanctioned post of the college with other similar Assistant Professors with all consequential benefits.

Further prayer is to direct the Vice Chancellor of Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh to approve the appointment of petitioner as an Assistant Professor of Geology in St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh as similar person like Amit Amar Soren, Assistant Professor of Geography in St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh, appointment was approved by the Vice Chancellor of Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh vide Memo No. VBU/Estt./154/2012 dated 21.01.2012.

…. to quash the letter vide Ref. SCC/1786/20 dated 16.03.2020 issued by the Principal, St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh, by which the petitioner has been debarred from taking classes of Geology in absence of Notification regarding appointment of petitioner by the University.”

4. It is contended that the petitioner was appointed as Assistant Professor of Geology in St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh against vacant sanctioned post with effect from 05.07.2013 under the provisions of the agreement between Diocese of the Chotanagpur and the then Ranchi University (now under the Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh) vide order dated 05.07.2013. On the basis of this letter, the petitioner joined as a Assistant Professor of Geology in the said College on 06.07.2013. On the basis of the appointment letter issued by the Diocese of the Chotanagpur, the Principal, St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh sent the appointment letter to the University for its approval vide letter dated 26.07.2013.

5. In spite of the above letter, the Vice-Chancellor of the University did not grant approval for the appointment of the petitioner as Assistant Professor, although the University had issued notification regarding approval of appointment of one Amit Amar Soren who was also appointed by the Diocese of the Chotanagpur as Assistant Professor in St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh on 21.01.2012.

6. It is further averred that the petitioner was discharging his duties regularly to the entire satisfaction of the Principal but the University did not issue notification regarding approval of appointment of the petitioner as an Assistant Professor which led to the Principal of the College issuing a letter to the petitioner debarring him from taking classes of Geology in absence of the notification constraining the petitioner to approach the learned Writ Court for the reliefs as quoted above.

7. The respondents-University contested the petition by filing a counter affidavit wherein it was averred that there is only one sanctioned post of Teacher in the Department of Geology at St. Columba’s College, Hazaribagh, against which, one Dr. Deepak Kumar had been working and even his appointment had not been approved.

8. The petitioner has filed a rejoinder wherein he has averred that the Director, Higher Education had issued Memo No.1265 dated 29.07.2024 whereby fixation of salary of late Dr. Deepak Kumar had been rejected due to the post of Assistant Professor being not vacant in Geol