Can Assistant Professors In Engineering Colleges Be Re-designated As Associate Professors Without PhD? Supreme Court Clarifies

The Supreme Court held that Assistant Professors in Engineering institutes(appointed after March 15, 2000), who did not have Ph.D qualification at the time of appointment or failed to acquire Ph.D within seven years of their appointment, cannot claim re-designation as Associate Professors in terms of the 2010 notification issued by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

At the same time, the Court also held that teachers who were appointed in various Engineering institutes prior to March 15, 2000, when PhD was not an essential requirement for the post of Assistant Professor, will receive the benefit and redesignation to the post of Associate Professor as per 6th Pay Commission.

"As far as such teachers are concerned who were appointed prior to 15.03.2000, we do not see any reason to disturb the findings of the High Court regarding their entitlements under the 6th Pay Commission, etc...The appellant shall release the higher pay scale to those respondents who are appointed prior to 15.03.2000 with an interest of 7.5% per annum on the arrears within a period of four weeks from today failing which the interest shall be calculated at the rate of 15% per annum," a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran held.

For the other remaining five Respondent-teachers who were appointed after this date when Ph.D became an essential requirement for the post of Assistant Professor, and they claimed the benefit of re-designation to Associate Professor in terms of higher pay scale but failed to acquire it within 7 years of appointment, relief was not granted.

"Under the circumstances, and in terms of what we have held above, the respondents who were appointed after 15.03.2000, who were non-Ph.D. and had also failed to acquire the same within seven years of appointment as was required, cannot be given the benefit of 2010 notification inasmuch as they cannot be given a higher pay scale or re-designated as an Associate Professor.

The phrase 'incumbent Assistant Professor' in the 2010 notification, to our mind, would only include such Assistant Professors working on the post who had a Ph.D. qualification at the time of their appointment or who though did not have a Ph.D. qualification at the time of their appointment but subsequently in terms of the notification dated 15.03.2000 read with subsequent notification dated 28.11.2005 acquired Ph.D. within seven years of their appointment or those appointed prior to 15.03.2000; when Ph.D. was not an essential qualification, continued uninterruptedly."

The Court added that as and when these teachers acquire a Ph.D, they would be at liberty to move an application before their respective institutes for higher pay and redesignation.

In this case, the Respondent-teachers, who possess a Master's degree, were appointed as Assistant Professors by the Appellant in the institutes between 1995 and 2009.  Subsequent to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE's) notification, the requirement for the post of Assistant Professor was Ph.D as per 5th Pay Commission.

All Respondents entered into an agreement to comply with the AICTE's notification for Ph.D to avail the benefits of the 5th pay revision. In 2005, AICTE again issued a notification stating that the Phd must be completed within 7 years from the date of appointment.

In 2010, the AICTE re-designated the posts in terms of the 6th Pay Commission, requiring that Assistant Professors who have completed 4 years of service in the pre-revised pay scale of pay scale of Rs.12000-18300 on January 1, 2006 shall be re-designated as Associate Professors. The Respondent teachers claimed the benefit of it, but they were denied on grounds that they did not possess a Ph.D degree, which was a mandatory requirement to be an Assistant Professor.

This was challenged before the Bombay High Court, which, relying on the decision of a coordinate bench, allowed the plea and the Respondent teachers were to be re-designated as Associate Professors and be given a higher pay scale as per the 6th Pay Commission. Subsequently, a review petition was filed, which also came to be dismissed. Both these orders were challenged before the Supreme Court.

Case Details:  THE SECRETARY ALL INDIA SHRI SHIVAJI MEMORIAL SOCIETY (AISSMS) AND ORS. v. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS|SLP(C) No. 7058-7061/2019

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 373

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Senior Advocate Ravindra Shrivastava, assisted by Arjun Garg AOR appeared for the petitioner.