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2d ago

Supreme Court Quashes 1,158 Punjab Professor, Librarian Appointments

The Supreme Court directed a new recruitment under UGC norms after finding the expedited pre-election hiring arbitrary.

Supreme Court has directed the Punjab government to initiate a fresh recruitment process as per 2018 UGC regulations.
The judgment highlights the glaring irregularities in the process (HT ARCHIVE)
The judges also noted that a haste, especially in disregard of institutional procedures and recommendations, gave rise to a presumption of mala fides.

Overview

  • A bench of Justices Dhulia and Chandran overturned a September 2024 Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling and annulled all 1,158 appointments.
  • The court held that replacing the UGC-mandated multi-stage selection, including academic work appraisal and viva-voce, with a single multiple-choice exam was a grave procedural error.
  • The recruitment process, launched in October 2021 just before state elections, bypassed the Punjab Public Service Commission in an expedited bid to fill posts.
  • Petitions from candidates alleging merit-based irregularities had prompted panels to probe the arbitrary selection before the apex court’s review.
  • The Supreme Court stressed that any fresh hiring must strictly follow UGC regulations for academic evaluation, written testing and viva-voce sessions.