IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that the application of reservation in recruitment must adhere to prescribed procedures set by the State Government, and any deviation from this framework renders the recruitment process invalid.

JUDGMENT :

SHREE PRAKASH SINGH, J.

1. Heard Shri Satish Chandra Mishra, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Gaurav Mehrotra, learned counsel for the petitioners, Shri Anupras Singh, learned counsel for Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia University, Shri Shailendra Kumar Singh, Chief Standing Counsel, Vivek Shukla, Additional Chief Standing Counsel and Shri Tushar Verma, learned counsel for the State.

2. Challenge is made to the advertisement bearing no. DrRMLIMS/ER/Rect-F/2023/1217 dated 01.12.2023 (hereinafter referred to as ‘impugned advertisement’) issued by the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (hereinafter referred to as ‘Institute’) thereby, applications have been invited from eligible candidates for appointment of faculty on regular/deputation basis, vide the special recruitment drive for the post of Professors/Associate Professors and Assistant Professors in various departments and further the order bearing no. DrRMLIMS/ER/Estb.1-F2/2024/1589 dated 19.01.2024 is also assailed whereby, the application of the petitioners has impliedly been rejected.

3. Contention of counsel for the petitioners is that ‘the Institute’ is an autonomous super specialty post graduate institute, fully aided by the Government of Uttar Pradesh The institute is creation of statute namely, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences Act 2015 (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘Act 2015’) and it is discharging public function.

4. Further submission is that the petitioners are not the outsiders, but are the faculty members working on the post of the Professors (Junior Grade)/Additional Professors in the institute whose description are given as follows:

5. Next submission is that the work and conduct of the petitioners were always above-board as they perform their duties to the best of their ability, sincerity and commitment to the institution.

6. Vide impugned advertisement dated 01.12.2023, applications were invited from eligible persons for the appointment of faculty on regular/deputation basis through special recruitment drive, however, there are various anomalies in the advertisement. He argued that prior to promulgation of Uttar Pradesh Educational Instructions (Reservation in the Teachers Cadre) Act 2021 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act 2021’), the department concerned of the Universities and statutory medical institutes were taken as a unit for applying reservation however, after coming into the existence of the aforesaid new enactment i.e. the Act 2021, the institute is taken as a unit for applying reservation on the various faculty position and further section 3(1) of the Act 2021categorically provides that the reservation on the post of direct recruitment in the institution is to be provided to the extent and in a manner ‘prescribed’ by the State Government, but the State Government never prescribed any procedure regarding reservation of post in direct recruitment out of sanctioned strength in the teacher cadre which creates great anomaly and this goes to the root of the matter.

7. He further argued that the recruitment exercise initiated by the respondent institute vide impugned advertisement dated 01.12.2023 is not incongruence with the existing guidelines of the Medical Council of India and the same is based on the old guidelines of the Medical Council of India of year 2020 whereas, in year 2023, the guideline of National Medical Commission (hereinafter referred to as ‘NMC’) (erstwhile MCI) reduced the strength of faculty and therefore, the strength of faculty members in the institute is liable to be re-determined as per the 2023 guidelines of NMC and therefore, the ad