ORDER :

This writ petition is filed seeking

“…a) to issue writ of Mandamus or other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the 1st respondent to grant admission the petitioner into the Ph.D. programme for the academic year 2025-26 based on the petitioners UGC Net without insisting for one year validity

b) to issue writ of Mandamus or other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the 1st respondent to admit the petitioner to the Ph.D course in accordance with UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D Degree) Regulations, 2022 (Gazette Notification No. 544 dated 07. 11. 2022)

c) and consequently set-aside the Public Notice dated 27. 03. 2024 the Public Notice dated 27. 03. 2024, since the same is issued in violation of the petitioners fundamental right guaranteed under Article 14, 16 and 21 of the constitution and contrary to the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph. D. Degree) Regulations, 2022 (Gazette Notification No.544 dated 07. 11. 2022)

d) and pass such other order or orders as this Court deems fit and proper…”

2. Heard M/s.D.L.Pandu, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.Thimothi Beri, learned Standing Counsel for respondent No.1 and Mr.M.P.Kashyap, learned Standing Counsel for the University Grants Commission. Perused the record.

3.1 The facts of the case are that the petitioner qualified the UGC NET for Assistant Professorship in the year 2021. However, the respondents have failed to consider the petitioner’s application for Ph.D. admission on the unfounded ground that the validity of the UGC NET qualification is limited to one year. The petitioner completed her M.Sc. in Geoinformatics in 2021 from Osmania University, Hyderabad, and qualified the UGC NET in Geography in the same year.

3.2 Subsequently, Respondent No. 1 issued a notification dated 04.09.2025 inviting applications from eligible candidates for admission to seven Ph.D. vacancies. Being fully eligible, the petitioner submitted her application for Ph.D. admission on 20.09.2025 pursuant to the said notification, along with the prescribed fee of Rs. 1,200/-. However, upon receiving no response from Respondent No. 1, the petitioner submitted representations dated 19.12.2025 and 20.12.2025 to Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, requesting that her application be considered in accordance with the rules followed by other State Universities. As no action was taken, the petitioner personally approached the respondents. Despite this, the respondents refused to consider her candidature, relying solely on a public notice dated 27.03.2024, without examining her eligibility on merits and by incorrectly assuming that the UGC NET qualification is valid only for one year.

3.3 It is submitted that Respondent No. 3, after the issuance of the admission notification, cannot alter the eligibility criteria by introducing a new condition that UGC NET scores are valid only for one year for the purpose of Ph.D. admission. It is a settled principle that statutory regulations cannot be amended or overridden by an executive instruction or public notice. Therefore, the denial of consideration of the petitioner’s candidature for admission to the Ph.D. programme under Respondent No. 1-University is arbitrary, illegal, and unjustified, thereby necessitating the filing of the present writ petition.

4.1 Learned counsel for the petitioner, by filing a memo of additional material papers, submits that, pursuant to the orders passed by this Hon’ble Court directing Respondent Nos.1 and 2 to consider and dispose of the representation dated 19.12.2025 submitted by the petitioner, Respondent No. 1 issued proceedings vide Lr. No. 001/REG/TU/NZB/2026/Legal Cell, dated 22.04.2026, rejecting the said representation.

4.2 He further submits that though the UGC Regulations, 2022, notified in the Gazette of India vide Notification No. 544, do not prescribe any time limit for the validity of the UGC NET qualification for the purpose of admiss