IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established in the judgment is that eligibility criteria for promotion, as per the applicable regulations, must be met, and the court does not have the power to relax or override these criteria.

JUDGMENT

1. Heard Mr. H. S. Paonam, learned Senior counsel for the Petitioners, Mr. S. Nepolean Singh, Learned GA for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, Mr. Juno Rahman, learned counsel for the Respondent No. 3, Mr. A. Jagjit Singh, Learned counsel for the Respondent Nos. 4 and 5, and Mr. I. Lalitkumar, learned senior counsel for the Private Respondent No.6.

2. In the instant writ Petition, the Petitioners are praying for quashing and setting aside the impugned proposed DPC for promotion to the post of Associate Professor in the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, in Dental College, JNIMS as a continuation of the Dental Council of India's Letter dated 30-12-2021 and further direction to consider the case of the Petitioners prior to the Private Respondent for promotion to the next higher post of Associate Professor in Dental College, JNIMS as and when they become eligible and there are vacant post available. The Petitioners have also prayed for passing an appropriate interim order for restraining the JNIMS authority from holding the DPC for promotion to the post of Associate Professor in the Department of PAEDIATRJC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, in Dental College, JNIMS during the pendency of the present case.

3. Mr. H.S Paonam, the learned senior for the petitioner submitted that according to the Petitioners, the JNIM, Porompat issued Notification dated 17-4-2018 inviting application for appointment of 18 (eighteen) Assistant Professors in Dental College, JNIMS for various Department including the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, Dental College, JNIMS, Porompat.

4. Consequent upon the recommendation of a duly constituted Selection Board, the present Petitioner No. 1 and the Petitioner No. 2 were appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, Dental College, JNIMS vide Order dated 14-8-2018. The Petitioner No 1 is at Serial No. 10 and the Petitioner No 2 is at Serial No. 11 in the list of All the Assistant professor and the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, Department of Dental College, JNIMS, the Petitioner No. 1 is at Serial No. 1 and the Petitioner No. 2 is at Serial No. 2 in order of merits.

5. He further represented that the Private Respondent was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, Dental College, JNIMS vide Order dated 29-9-2019 and the Private Respondent is at Serial No. 3 of the list of Assistant Professor in the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY, Dental College, JNIMS. In other words, the Petitioners are senior to the Private Respondent amongst the Assistant professors for the Department of PAEDIATRIC AND PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY in Dental College, JNIMS.

6. It is further case of the petitioners are that the next promotional post for the post of Assistant Professor is the Associate Professor. The Dental College, JNIMS being a nascent College and therefore, a lot of development work in terms of faculty, infrastructure and documentation is going on. A separate Recruitment Rules for promotion to the post of Associate Professor is yet to be framed. However, it is learned that the JNIMS authority have taken up process for filling up various teaching posts by way of promotion and perhaps for avoiding any complicacies have sought clarification from the Dental Council of India regarding qualification of the faculty. The Dental Council of India vide Letter dated 30-12-2021 have clarified in terms of the following:

'The Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences. Imphal be requested to follow BDS Course Regulations 2007 minimum basic Qualification and Teaching Experience. Besides the Service Rules for teachers prescribed by the Medical Education Department of the respective State may be followed.'

7. The Dental Council of India, BDS Course Regulations 2007 would regulate the Dental Colleges in India prescribing the minimum Basic Qualification and Teaching Experience Require