The main legal point established in the judgment is that once the terms of appointment are accepted, they bind both parties, and the court cannot rewrite the terms of the contract. The court also emphasized that it could not interfere with the decision of the Selection Committee.

JUDGMENT :

S.N. Prasad, J - This writ petition has been filed under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India wherein direction has been sought for upon the opposite parties to strike down the word "visiting" from the appointment order under Annexure-1 or in alternative to direct the opposite parties to select the petitioner and issue engagement order pursuant to the selection process under Annexure-10.

2. The brief facts of the case of the petitioner is that he, being eligible to hold the post of Assistant Professor, has made an application in terms of the advertisement published by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar in which he had participated for regular appointment, but he has been appointed as "Visiting" at the level of Assistant Professor in the School of Earth, Ocean & Climate Science of the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar and as such, according to the petitioner, the authorities have committed illegality in appointing him as Visiting Faculty in place of regular incumbent as Assistant Professor.

According to the petitioner, he has filled up his application form in pursuant to the advertisement under Annexure-4 which has been issued for filling up the regular vacancies and as such, no stretch of imagination he can be appointed as Visiting Faculty.

The contention raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner in assailing the terms of appointment on various grounds i.e. according to him, terms and conditions of the advertisement has been changed which cannot be allowed to be done once the selection process has been started.

Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued out the case by submitting that even though he has accepted the terms of appointment that will not cease him to assail the said order because of the settled position of law there cannot be estoppel against the law and here in the instant case, the appointment is to be made strictly in terms of the recruitment rule wherein the provision has been made under the Indian Institute of Technology Act, 1961 and statute governing the field wherein under the Statute no.12 the process of appointment has been given whereby and whereunder the selection committee is supposed to make appointment on regular basis which is to be filled up by virtue of issuance of an advertisement and the appointment on contract basis is altogether a separate process as provided under the Statute No.17.

According to the petitioner, since open advertisement has been published, it will be an appointment under the provision of the Statute No.12 and hence, if any decision has been taken by the authority in course of selection process after issuance the advertisement for filling up the post on regular basis and it cannot be deviated and if deviated, it will be said to be contrary to the statutory provision and in that pretext, the aggrieved party cannot be precluded from challenging the action of the authority.

To substantiate his argument, learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgments rendered by the Supreme Court in the cases of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Limited and Another v. Brojo Nath Ganguly and Another, (1986) 3 SCC 156; Raj Kumar and Others v. Shakti Raj and Others, (1997) 9 SCC 527, Chhaganlal Keshavlal Mehta v. Patel Narandas Haribhai, (1982) 1 SCC 223; Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Others v. State of U.P. and Others, (2005) 5 SCC 172.

The other ground has been taken by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner, having no option at the time of selection, has accepted the offer of appointment and subsequent thereto he has challenged the same on the ground of arbitrariness of the opposite parties since they have acted contrary to the settled position of law by changing the terms and conditions of the advertisement which they cannot do.

In view of the principle laid down that once the process of selection begins, the rules of terms cannot be allowed to be changed. In this regard, he has relied upon the judgment rendere