HC upholds PU’s central status, says Punjab SC reservation not applicable
The court observed that it was evident that PU was following central reservation policy; it further said no record could be produced by the petitioner that the varsity has ever followed Punjab government policy with respect to eligibility of an SC candidate
The Punjab and Haryana high court has dismissed a plea challenging appointment of a faculty member in Panjab University (PU) alleging that same was made against Scheduled Caste (SC) reservation rules of Punjab government.
The plea, from Narinder Singh, had challenged the appointment of Sarita Pippal as an assistant professor in the department of mathematics following a 2013 advertisement.
Singh had argued that Pippal belonged to Uttar Pradesh (UP) and had used an SC certificate issued by the UP government. A certificate issued by any other state than Punjab could not have been used for appointment in PU as a candidate belonging to one state cannot claim benefit of SC category in another state as per policies framed by Punjab government. Only the people born in Punjab can claim this benefit, it was argued by the petitioner.
The court found that Senate, the apex governing body of the varsity, has deliberated on the issue of reservation and decided to follow University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. The court referred to the Senate discussion on the issue in which it was recorded, “....though Panjab University was established by an act of the Punjab state legislature, however, Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, has empowered the central government to oversee affairs of the university and the university being an inter-state university has 60% of its funding from central government through the ministry of home affairs/Chandigarh. The state reorganisation Act being a central act, the university, as it exists today, has to be treated as a creation of the central Act.”
The court observed that it was evident that PU was following central reservation policy. It further said no record could be produced by the petitioner that the varsity has ever followed Punjab government policy with respect to eligibility of an SC candidate. “The state of Punjab has excluded candidates belonging to other states, though, they fall within definition of SC category in Punjab. However, there is no document available on record disclosing that Panjab University has followed said policy of the state government,” it noted.
The court also said the appointment was made a decade back and can’t be disturbed at this stage as appointed person has served for almost 10 years and gained experience. It referred to a similar order from the Supreme Court in which it refused to quash appointment of judicial officers, observing that it would not be in public interest to deprive the state and its citizens of the benefit of experienced officers who have attained at a senior position.
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