Cancellation of promotion of assistant professors stayed

Jabalpur, Dec 11 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh High Court has stayed a single-bench order cancelling promotion of 515 assistant professors as professors by the government to fill vacant posts by relaxing criteria under the Madhya Pradesh Education Service Rule, 2002.

Hearing four petitions, including by local Professor Mukesh Jain and Bhopal-resident Sarita Khare, a division bench of Chief Justice Anang Kumar Patnaik and Judge Ajit Singh issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission, the Principal Secretary (Higher Education), the Commissioner (Higher Education) and Bhopal-based Prof Kailash Tyagi.

Prof Jain's counsel S K Rao told the court that the government had framed the Madhya Pradesh Education Service (Collegiate Recruitment) rules in 1990 for promotions in colleges.

The Act was amended in 2002 and renamed the Service (Promotion) Rules, under which a good confidential report and obtaining 15 points were made mandatory for promoting assistant professors.

The rule was relaxed in 2004 with required points being decreased to 13 and 45 assistant professors were promoted. Later, required points were brought further down to 10 to fill 700 vacant posts.

Prof Tyagi, who was promoted as professor after rules were relaxed in 2004, had filed a petition before a single-bench of the High Court demanding cancellation of promotions describing relaxing of points required from 15 to 10 as illegal.

Prof Jain filed an appeal petition before a division bench challenging the single-bench order. The petition stated that the government had no power to amend rules framed in 1990. Prof Tyagi was also promoted on the basis of earlier relaxation.

He demanded cancellation of all assistant professors who were promoted without fulfilling the eligibility criteria.

UNI