'Illegal Selection Process': Supreme Court Directs Kerala University To Appoint Candidate Who Was Denied Lecturer Post 14 Years Ago

The Supreme Court directed Kerala University to appoint a candidate who was illegally denied the post of Lecturer in Department Of Education in the selection process held 14 years ago.

The bench of Justices KM Joseph and S. Ravindra Bhat clarified that Bindu TV, the candidate will not be entitled to arrears of salary. Instead she will be entitled to notional fixation and fitment in her grade from the date of such appointment as Assistant Professor with all consequential annual increments etc., and continuity of service on such basis, it said.

The matter pertains to a selection process initiated in the year 2003 for the post of Lecturer in the Department of Education in Kerala University. There were two vacancies in the open category to which three candidates including Bindu TV applied. The Rank List was made and Bindu TV was placed at third position. The other two got selected in the year 2007 while Bindu did not get. Aggrieved, she filed a writ petition before the Kerala High Court in the year 2010. The single bench allowed her writ petition and directed the University to appoint her after it found favour with her contention that she was not granted the maximum marks which she would have secured for the articles which she had published in the journal by the name 'Experiments in Education' The Division Bench allowed the writ appeal and set aside the single bench direction. The Division Bench noted that the approved journal is 'Experiments in Function' and not 'Experiments in Education'.

"We are of the view that the Division Bench has erred in not finding that the documents would clearly show that the journal 'Experiments in Education' was included as approved after the process was undergone at the hands of the concerned bodies of the University, viz., the Board of Studies, Faculty of Education and finally, the Academic Council.", the bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and S. Ravindra Bhat said.

The Court held that Bindu was entitled on the strength of the marks which she has already obtained admittedly and the further marks she would be entitled on the strength of the three articles published in the journal in controversy, to be treated as having attained the first position.

The court also clarified that there will be no recovery of any emoluments drawn by the other candidate who had got the appointment and it would not takeaway the benefit of the service.

Case: TV Bindu vs University of Kerala ; CA 4568-4569 OF 2021
Citation: LL 2021 SC 362
Coram: Justices KM Joseph and S. Ravindra Bhat
Counsel: AOR V. K. Biju for appellant, AOR Prashant Padmanabhan, AOR Romy Chacko, AOR P. A. Noor Muhamed, AOR Venkita Subramoniam T.R for respondents

Click here to Read/Download Order