ORDER

1. The petitioner has approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking following relief:-

“(a) to call for the relevant records of the case from the respondents;

(b) to command the respondents to treat the petitioner as qualified in the selection process meant for appointment on the post of Professor in Commerce undertaken by the respondent No.2 and to appoint him on the post of Professor in Commerce in the regular pay scale of Rs.12,000-18,300/- (revised to Rs.37,400- 67,000/- + AGP Rs.10,000/- w.e.f. 1.1.2006), with all consequential and monetary benefits, by a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, direction or order;

(c) to allow this petition with costs;

(d) to pass such other order(s) as may be deemed appropriate in the facts and circumstances of the case, to grant relief to the Petitioner.”

2. The case of the petitioner is that he is the citizen of India and the resident of Barwani District and belonged to the ‘Bhilala’ Caste recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in the State of Madhya Pradesh. He had obtained a Ph.D. Degree in Commerce from Devi Ahilya University, Indore and had held a green card entitling him to an additional 5% marks in the interview. Pursuant to his selection by the M.P. Public Service Commission he had been appointed as Assistant Professor in Commerce on 13.11.1996 in the regular pay scale of Rs.2200-4000/- and had been confirmed on the said post with effect from 02.12.1998. He had served in the teaching field for approximately fifteen years and had completed orientation and refresher courses to strengthen his academic qualifications.

3. It was further stated that Competent Committees had duly assessed the petitioner’s merit and performance, on the basis of which he had been granted the senior pay scale of Rs.10,000-15,200/- with effect from 29.11.2002 and later the Selection Grade pay scale of Rs.12,000-18,300/- with effect from 2.12.2007. He had actively participated in National Research Seminars and had presented various papers in the discipline of Commerce. It was also asserted that he had been allotted a minor research project by the University Grants Commission on 28.3.2008 relating to the role of the Life Insurance Sector and Rural Markets in the Economic and Social Development of India, with special reference to the Nimar Districts.

4. It was stated that an advertisement dated 19.1.2009 had been issued inviting applications for the post of Professor in several subjects, including Commerce, in the pay scale of Rs.12,000-18,300/- (revised to Rs.37,400-67,000/- + AGP Rs.10,000/- with effect from 01.01.2006). The petitioner, being fully eligible had applied under the Scheduled Tribe Category was called for an interview scheduled on 16.9.2011 before a Panel of Subject Experts. Out of seven posts of Professor in Commerce, two had been reserved for female candidates and five for male candidates and under the Scheduled Tribe Category only he and one other candidate, Dr. Mangilal Jadhav, had applied.

5. The petitioner’s grievance is that despite fulfilling all eligibility criteria and possessing considerable academic and research credentials, he had not been selected when the results were declared on 19.9.2011. The result indicated that 22 candidates had been selected under the General Category, 10 candidates had been placed on the waiting list and two candidates had been selected under the OBC category, while the posts reserved for SC/ST had been declared unfilled on the ground of non-availability of suitable candidates. Aggrieved by what he perceived as an arbitrary and unjust denial of appointment, the petitioner had approached the Court by filing the present writ petition.

6. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner possessed the requisite educational qualifications for appointment on the post of Professor in Commerce in the Department of Higher Education of the State Government. It was stated that he had an outstanding academic and