The court emphasized the importance of adhering to eligibility criteria/instructions and the necessity of exercising the power of relaxation when applicable.

JUDGMENT :

Krishna Murari, J.

This intra-court appeal filed under Clause X of the Letters Patent seeks to challenge the judgment and order dated 15.01.2019 passed by the learned Single Judge allowing the writ petition filed by the respondent-petitioner herein.

2. Respondent-Petitioner approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the action of the appellant institution in refusing to approve the proceedings of the Selection Committee dated 26.03.2016 recommending the name of the respondent-petitioner for appointment on the post of Principal. A further writ of mandamus was claimed to command the appellant-institution to approve the proceedings of the Selection Committee and to issue direction to the respondents to issue letter of appointment.

3. Facts in brief leading to the dispute can be summarized as under:-

Appellant institution, which is a Government aided private college, affiliated to Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, issued an advertisement dated 12.12.2015 inviting applications for appointment on the post of Principal of the institution in regular pay scale. The respondent-petitioner was one of the applicants for appointment on the said post. She was called for interview, which was held on 26.03.2016 and in all 9 candidates were interviewed. The allegation made in the writ petition is that the name of the respondent-petitioner was recommended by the Selection Committee at Sr. No.1 and another candidate Dr. Gita Yadav was recommended at Sr. No.2. However, the Vice Chancellor of Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak did not approve the proceedings of the Selection Committee and vide letter dated 12.08.2016 required the appellant institution to re-advertise the post.

Learned Single Judge vide order impugned in this appeal allowed the writ petition. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant institution has filed the instant intra court appeal.

4. The writ proceedings before the learned Single Judge were contested on behalf of the university by filing the written statement alleging that the selection procedure stood invalidated on account of non compliance of the eligibility criteria/instructions dated 07.08.2003 issued by the Director General, Higher Education, Haryana, duly adopted by the University laying down the requirement of at least minimum three eligible candidates at the time of interview having more than API score of 400 in category III and since in the case in hand only two recommended candidates, namely, the answering respondent-petitioner and one Dr. Gita Yadav had API score in category-III of more than 400, the Vice Chancellor disapproved the recommendation of the Selection Committee. Thus, the reason for recording disapproval to the recommendations made by the Selection Committee was violation of condition in the instructions dated 07.08.2003 requiring more than 3 candidates having API score of more than 400 available for being recommended for appointment against one post. The learned Single Judge has taken note of the stand taken by the appellant University that the subsequent instructions issued by the University dated 17.06.2015 contain a condition where under the Selection Committee can relax the condition of having three eligible candidates of more than 400 API score against one post, subject to there being ample material on record of efforts undertaken to elicit a good response e.g. issuance of advertisements at least twice in well circulated newspapers, one of which must be of a National Daily, posting advertisement on website and intimation to the university. It may be relevant to reproduce the amended instructions dated 17.06.2015 issued by the University addressed to all the Directors/Principal of the colleges affiliated with Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak:-

"I am directed to inform you that as per past practice, interview for the selection of Principal, Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in Education Colleges were conducted even if a single el