The allocation of research supervisors must adhere to UGC regulations, and lack of justification in registration rejection is unlawful.

JUDGMENT

Petitioners, two in number being qualified to undergo the Ph.D programme 2019 in discipline of commerce submitted an application within the stipulated period, which is evident from the notification Exts.P1 and P2. In the column of Exts.P1 and P2 the official address and of the supervising teacher was given as that as of Dr.P.N.Harikumar, Associate Professor and Research Guide, Head of the Department of Post Graduate, Catholicate College. The fees was also remitted but the respondents for the reason best known vide impugned order Ext.P3 cancelled the registration of the petitioners as research scholars.

2. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the said order was at the back of the petitioners and against Clause 6.3 of the UGC Regulations , which prescribe that the research supervisor will be decided by the department concerned depending upon the research scholars. The aforementioned order gave the cause of action to approach this Court and vide interim order dated 18.12.2019 petitioners were permitted to continue.

3. University is represented by Sri.Surin George Iype and submits that as per the order dated 31.12.2019 respondents have already regularised the registration of the petitioners owing to the sanction granted but subject yo the outcome and the final result of the writ petition.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the interim order may be made absolute as no reasoning was assigned in rejecting the registration. It was the duty of the respondents to allocate the supervising teacher. The order dated 31.12.2019 is extracted hereinbelow:

Sri. Alan Lukose and Smt. Parvathy S. Gopan have

applied for Ph.D. registration in 2019 Admission under the Faculty of Commerce, vide the papers cited (5). The applications were rejected by the University on 20.09.2019 as the proposed research supervising teacher. Dr. P. N. Harikumar, Associate Professor and Research Supervising Teacher, Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta had no vacancies. The applicants, vide. the paper cited (6), again submitted request for reconsidering the applications for research. The matter was placed before the University Research Committee

held on 15.11.2019 and the same was rejected, vide the paper read as (7) above.

The Hon'ble High Court of Kerala, vide the paper read as (8) above, directed the University to permit the applicants to attend the Doctoral Interview scheduled on 25.11.2019 provisionally, subject to the result of the writ petition filed by Sri. Alan Lukose and Smt. Parvathy S. Gopan or any further orders to be passed by the Court. The applicants were permitted to attend the Doctoral Committee in compliance with this.

The Hon'ble High Court of Kerala, vide the paper read as (10) above, has also directed the University to register the names of Sri. Alan Lukose and Smt. Parvathy S. Gopan as research scholars before the cut off date subject to the final result of the writ petition or any further orders to be passed by the Court.

In compliance with the orders of the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala, as above, sanction has been accorded by the Vice- Chancellor, to Sri. Alan Lukose and Smt. Parvathy S. Gopan who were recommended by the Doctoral Committee, vide the paper cited (9), being granted registration for research in Commerce, under the Faculty of Commerce, as shown below.

The registration granted to Sri. Alan Lukose and Smt.

Parvathy S. Gopan will be subject to the final result of the writ petition or any further orders to be passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in this Regard.