Holding

The respondent had no right to a permanent appointment and the High Court's order directing such appointment was set aside.

Summary

The Committee of Management of Vasanta College for Women appointed T.N. Tripathi as a lecturer on an ad‑hoc basis despite his lack of a Ph.D., relying on a selection committee that lacked two external experts. His ad‑hoc appointment was extended once but not thereafter, and he failed to obtain the Ph.D. within the stipulated period. After the college advertised for a permanent post, Tripathi did not apply, later claimed he had submitted his thesis, and challenged the advertisement in writ petitions. The High Court directed the college to appoint him permanently, but the college later appointed another lecturer who served for three years before resigning. The Supreme Court held that Tripathi had no subsisting right to continuation of service, his later Ph.D. did not revive his claim, and the High Court's order was set aside, allowing the appeal.

Issues considered

Whether an ad‑hoc appointee lacking the requisite Ph.D. can claim a permanent appointment after later obtaining the degree.
Whether the selection committee's recommendation is valid when two of its members were absent.
Whether the respondent has any subsisting right to continuation of service after the expiry of the ad‑hoc appointment.
Whether the High Court's order directing permanent appointment can be set aside.
Whether the college may appoint another candidate to the vacancy notwithstanding the respondent's writ petitions.

Subjects

ad‑hoc appointmentpermanent appointmentqualification requirementPh.D. degreeselection committeehigher educationservice continuationadministrative law

Judgment

A THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT,
VASANTA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN
v.
TRIBHUWAN NATH TRIPATHI AND ORS.

NOVEMBER 21, 1996
B
[N.P. SINGH AND SUHAS C. SEN, JJ.]

S e1vice Law:

C Plivate College-Post of lecture1-Appointment of-Two extemal ex-
perts out o,{four member Selection Committee absent at il!te1view-Candidate
did not possess requisite Ph.D. degree-But assured he would get it shmt-
ly-Selection Committee recommended candidate for appointment and men-
tioned that his research work and publications were equivalem to
Ph.D.--However, candidate did not publish such work-Jn view of absence
D of expe1ts frqm Selection Committee, College appointed candidate only on ad
hoc basis ll!Zd made his further continuance subject to his completion of his
Ph.D.-Deipite extension of his ad hoc appointment candidate failed to get
his Ph.D. degree-Before expiry of said extended peliod advertisement issued
inviting application for said post but candidate did not apply for the
E same-Later on, he infonned College that he submitted his thesis for Ph.D.
but failed to appear for interview in response to interview cal/ letter issued by
College Pursual!t to infonnation given by him--<:andidate challenged said
adve1tisement but as there was no intelim order of court another person
appointed as lecturer and thereafter candidate obtained his Ph.D. de-
gree-However, sometimes later, the person so appointed resigned-Conse-
F quently College by another advertisement invited applications and
appointed a person in that post-Held: relief against a person appointed
could not be granted unless strong grounds made out-In the circumstances
of the case, the candidate could not be treated as Lecturer on pennanent
basis.
G
Ad hoc appointment-Expiry of peliod of-Continuation of service
of-Held: Such an appointee did not have any subsisting light for continua-
tion of service.

The Appellant-College issued an advertisement for the post of lec-
H turer in English. Two external expert members out of the four-member
56
COMMITTEEOFMANAGEMElffVASANTACOL!EGEFOR WOMEN,. T.N. TRIPATI!I 57
Selection Committee were absent at the time of interview. The respondent A
did not possess the requisite Ph.D. degree and assured that he would get
the same shortly. The Selection Committee had selected the respondent for
the post of Lecturer in English and mentioned that the respondent's
research work and publications were equivalent to Ph.D. However, since
no such work of the respondent had been published and in view of the
B
absence of the experts from the Selection Committee, the appellant-College
appointed the respondent on an ad hoc basis and made his further
continuance subject to completion of his Ph.D. Despite an extension of the
" period of his ad hoc appointment, the respondent failed to get his Ph. D.
degree. Before the expiry of the said extended period, advertisement was
issued inviting applications for permanent Lecturers in English but the C
respondent did not apply for the same. Later, he informed the appellant-
College that he had submitted his thesis for Ph.D. but failed to appear for
the interview in response to the interview call letter issued by the appel-
lant-College pursuant to the information given by the respondent.
D
The respondent filed a writ petition before the High Court challeng-
ing the said advertisement but in the absence of any interim order of the
court one M was appointed as lecturer in English and thereafter the
respondent obtained his Ph.D. Degree. However, sometimes later, M
resigned from the post of Lecturer after a period of three years. Conse-
quently, the appellant- College by another advertisement invited applica- E
tions and appointed a person in the post lectnrer in English. In the
meantime, the High Court allowed the respondent's petition and directed
the appellant-College to appoint the respondent on a permanent basis.
Being aggrieved the appellant-College preferred the present appeal.
F
On behalf of the respondent it was contended that the Selection
Committee had considered that he did not have a Ph.D. degree but,
considering his published work as equivalent to Ph.D., recommended him
for appointment on a permanent basis; that if the appellant-College did G
not treat the Selection Committee as properly constituted one due to
absence of two members thereof, the appellant should not have acted on
the basis of the recommendation of that Committee and should have
arranged a proper meeting of the Selection Committee; and that in such
circumstances, and having obtained his Ph.D degree although with some
delay, the appointment of the respondent should be regularised. H
58 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 9 S.C.R.
A Allowing the appeal, this Court

HELD : 1. Although, there was considerable laxity on the part of the
College authorities in the way they have handled the case, without strong
grounds being made out, it would not be right to unseat the person who
has now been appointed as Lecturer in English pursuant to the second
B advertisement. The writ-petitioner was not qualified to be appointed as
lecturer when he made his application for the first time. Even then he was
appointed on ad hoc basis and was given a chance to acquire the requisite
qualification within a brief period. His ad hoc appointment was extended
once and thereafter it was not extended. The petitioner did not have any
C subsisting right for continuation of service at that point of time. His
position has not improved by the acquisition of the Ph.D. degree after he
ceased to be a lecturer even on an ad hoc basis. He could have applied in
response to the advertisements that were issued subsequently. He chose
not to do so. There is no reason to treat him as Lecturer even after the
period of ad hoc appointment was over and M functioned as Lecturer in
D English for a period of more than three years. [65-G-H; 66-A-C]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 14737 of
1996.

E From the Judgment and Order dated 23.12.94 of the Allahabad High
Court in W.P. No. 17454 of 1990.

A.K. Chitale and Niraj Sharma for the Appellant.

S.K. Gupta and Auil Kumar Jha for the Respondents.
F The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

SEN, J. Leave granted.

Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat Fort, Varanasi, is an educa-
G tional institution run by and under the control of Krishnamurthi Founda-
tion India. The post of Lecturer in English fell vacant in the College. An
advertisement was issued by the College on 12.8.1989 in a number of
newspapers inviting applications for the post. The eligibility requirement
for the post, according to the advertisement, was :

H (a) A good academic record and at least a high Second Division
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENTVASANTACOLLbGE FOR WOMEN v. T.N. TRIPATI-11 [SEN,J.] 59
in the Master's Degree in the relevant subject from a recog- A
nised University.

(b) A Doctorate or M.Phil. Degree or an equivalent published
work showing an ability to carry out independent research
work. DESIRABLE : A good working knowledge of Hindi
and English. B

Tribhuwan Nath Tripathi was one of the candidates for the post.
Tripathi had a Master's Degree in English, but did not have any Doctorate
or M.Phil. Degree. Tripathi had a claim that he had registered himself for
Ph.D. in March, 1986 on the research topic "Neo-Romanticism in Modern
British Poetry". He had several publications and books to his credit which
c
were as under :-

Publications :

(i) Research Papers D
(a) "Romanticisim and Neo-Romanticism".
(Accepted for publication)

(b) "Surrealism and the English Neo-Romantics"
(Accepted for publication) E

(c) ''Treatment of Love in the Poetry of David Gascoyne"
(Sent for publication)

(d) "Nature in the Hands of Dylan Thoman"
(Under publication) F

(ii) Books

Leaming English

Part IV(l987) G
Part III(1988)
Part IV (1988)
Part V(l988)

(Bharati Pustak Mandir, Calcutta) H
60 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 9 S.C.R.
A A Selection Committee was constituted to interview the candidates.
The Selection Committee comprised of two external expert members and
two representatives of Banaras Hindu University - One was an expert in
the subject for which interview was conducted and the other expert was a
nominee of the University, who may or may not be an expert in the subject.
B But, when the interview by the Selection Committee was held on 8.11.1989,
the two representatives of BHU failed to turn up. The other two members
of the Selection Committee, however, proceeded with the interview and
selected Trip~thi for the post of Lecturer in English. After the Selection
Committee had selected Tripathi for the post of lecturer in English, the
Manager of the College wrote a letter dated 10.11.1989 to the Deputy
C Registrar of the BHU, asking him to seek the approval of the Vice-Chan-
cellor tu ad hoc appointment of Tripathi as Lecturer in English with effect
from the date he took over charge. Officer on Special Duty (Acad. &
Exams.) of the BHU wrote a letter dated 23rd December, 1989, seeking
clarification as to why the appointment letter issued to Tripathi mentioned
D that he had been offered an ad hoc appointment as Lecturer only and
further continuation had been made conditional. It was pointed out that
the Selection Committee had recommended Tripathi for appointment as a
Lecturer. The Selection Committee had also mentioned that Tripathi's
research work and publications were assessed equivalent to Ph.D. On
January 8, 1990, the Manager of the College replied to the letter dated
E 23rd December, 1989 :-

"You will recall that the Managing Committee of our College had
requested the Banaras Hindu University to permit them to invite
one expert from outside for selection of Lecturers. This was
F approved by the Executive Council of the BHU and made ap-
plicable to all the affiliated colieges. Accordingly we have been
inviting e'ternal experts out of the panel of names supplied to us
by the BHU for this purpose. Our Managing Committee has
resolved as a policy matter that permanent appointments should
be made only when both experts are present in the selection.
G Temporary or ad hoc appointments can be made even when one
of the experts is absent. In this case we had invited two external
experts for the Selection Committee but both were unable to turn
up on account of certain disturbances in the city in spite of having
conveyed their acceptance. Therefore, the selection was held only
H with the University nominee and one subject expert in the com-
COMMITI'EEC1FMANAGEMENfVASANTACOLIBGEPOR WOMENv. T.N. TRIPATHI[SEN,J.] 61
mittee. The candidate selected did not have a Ph.D. and had stated A
in the interview that he has started writing his thesis and will be
completing his Ph.D. shortly. In view of the above facts, we have
decided to offer Shri T.N. Tripathi an ad hoc appointment and this
has also been approved by the Univer.iity."

It may be mentioned that Tripathi had been offered an ad hoc B
appointment by the Manager by a letter dated 18.11.89 which was accepted
by Tripathi by a letter dated 27.11.89 in which he pointed out that he was
not a candidate for ad hoc appointment and there must have been some
mistake which should be clarified. It was stated by Tripathi that he was the
only candidate with published work in English Grammar and had appeared c
before the Selection Committee. He was an aspirant for the permanent
post. He requested the College to allow him to wail for the result of the
interview for the permanent post.

On 29.11.89 the Manager of the College informed Tripathi in writing
that the post against which he had been appointed was a permanent post, D.
but temporary appointment was offered as he had not completed his
M.Phil./Ph.D. Degree. He fur'her wrote:-

- "You had mentioned in the interview that you are writing your
Ph.D. thesis and will be submitting it shortly. You will be con-
sidered for a permanent appointment after successful completion
of your Ph.D."
E

Tripathi was asked to join duty latest by December 15, 1990 failing
which it would be presumed that he was not interested in accepting the
offer. On 8th December, 1989, the Deputy Registrar of BHU informed the F
Manager of the College that ad hoc appointment of Tripathi had been
sanctioned. On 12th December, 1989, Tripathi joined as Lecturer in English
un ad hoc basis. On 23rd December, 1989, 0.P. Tandon, an Officer on

- Special Duty at BHU pointed out to the Manager of the College that
Tripathi had been recommended by the Selection Committee for appoint-
ment as Lecturer in English. The appointment Jette; issued to Tripathi G
mentioned that he had been offered ad hoc appointment as Lecturer until
30th April, 1990 and further continuation had been made conditional. The
proceedings of the Selection Committee also mentioned that "his research
work and publications are assessed equivalent to Ph.D". In view of what
had been stated above, it was not clear why Tripathi was not appointed an H.
62 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 9 S.C.R.
A probation and instead given an ad hoc appointment. On 4th January, 1990,
management of the College passed a resolution for permanent appoint-
ment of Anita Singh and for ad hoc appointment of respondent although
..
only one expert was present at the meeting. On 8th January, 1990, it was
pointed out on behalf of the College in reply to the University's letter dated
23rd December, 1989 that due to the absence of one expert, permanent
B
appointment could not be given to Tripathi. On 27th March, 1990, Tripathi
sought permanent appointment and explained that delay in getting the
Ph.D. was due to an accident suffered by the Supervisor of the Ph.D. thesis
paper.

C On 1st May, 1990, the period of ad hoc appointment of Tripathi was
extended upto 31st October, 1990 or permanent appointment whichever
was earlier. On 20th April, 1990, the University had issued a certificate that
pre-submission seminar of Tripathi's Ph.D. thesis had been held. A copy
of the certificate had been forwarded to the management. On 16th July,
D 1990, Tripathi filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court seeking a
writ of Mandamus for permanent appointment and also an order against
termination of his service. On behalf of the appellant-College, an adver-
tisement was given in Employment News dated 25-31, August, 1990 inviting

-
applications for permanent Lecturers in English, Geography and History.
The required qualification was, at least a high second class M.Phil./Ph.D.
E or equivalent published work indicating the candidate's capacity in inde-
pendent research work. It was stated in the advertisement that if no suitable
candidate with M.Phil./Ph.D. was available, a candidate with good
academic record with at least two years' research/practical experience may
be appointed on the condition that he/she will have to complete the Ph.D.
F within eight years of appointment.

On 5th October, 1990, Tripathi informed the management of the

-
College that he had completed the research work and his thesis had been
submitted on 4th October, 1990 and a certificate of University was
enclosed. Thereupon, the management of the College sent him an interview
G call letter. But, Tripathi did not apply for the post pursuant to the adver-
tisement nor did he turn up for the interview. But, he filed a second writ
petition No. 32900/90 challenging the advertisement dated 31st August,
1990. This was followed by a letter to the management not to hold any
selection in view of the pendency of the writ petition. No interim order was
H passed by the Court. On 29th December, 1990, Madhu Kapoor was ap-
,.
COMMITfEEOFMANAGEMENTVASANI'ACOLlEGEFORWOMENv. T.N.1RIPATHl[SEN,J.] 63

pointed Lecturer in English as a probationer. On 2nd January, 1992, her A
appointment was confirmed. On 8th October, 1993, Madhu Kapoor gave a
three months' notice of resignation. On 9th October, 1993, management
directed that Madhu Kapoor be relieved with effect from 8th January, 1994
and fresh advertisement was issued in Employment News dated 6-12
November, 1993 inviting applications to the post of Lecturer in English.
B
On 11th January, 1994, the High Court on the application of Tripathi
passed an interim order that any selection or appointment shall be subject
to the writ petitions filed by Tripathi. Tripathi claimed that in January,
1991, he had obtained a Ph.D. degree from BHU. The title of his thesis
11 11
was Neo-Ron1anticism in Modern British Poetry •

c
When the writ petition filed by him was taken up for hearing, the
High Court held that there was no reason why Tripathi should not have
been appointed to the post of Lecturer in English and the management
was directed to appoint Tripathi. The Court also directed that Tripathi's
appointment pursuant to the advertisement dated 12th August, 1989 "shall D
be deemed to have been made on permanent basis and shall entail the
consequences in accordance with law11 •

The Committee of Management of the College has come up in
appeal and has contended that when appointment of Madhu Kapoor was
made, Tripathi had not challenged the appointment. Madhu Kapoor func- E
tioned as Lecturer for more than three years and there is no reason why
Tripathi should be reinstated. The writ-petitioner would not have had any
case if Madhu Kapoor continued to work as a Lecturer in the College.

The basic point is that Tripathi did not have the requisite qualifica-
tions for appointment as Lecturer. He did not have a Ph.D. Degree when F
he appeared for interview. That is why an ad hoc appointment was given
to him. This was done on the basis of representation made by Tripathi
before the Selection Committee that he would get his Ph.D. Degree shortly.
But he failed to get the same even within the extended time of appointment
and, therefore, the management had no alternative but to issue fresh G
advertisement for the post of Lecturer. The ad hoc appointment was
.. )-
extended once and had not been extended thereafter. A fresh appointment
was made. Madhu Kapoor functioned as Lecturer in English till she
voluntarily resigned after three years.

The contention of Tripathi is that the writ petition was filed long H
••
64 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1996] SUPP. 9 S.C.R.
A before Madhu Kapoor was appointed. His case is that the Selection
Committee had recommended him for appointment on permanent basis.
The Committee had taken into consideration the fact that he did not have
a Ph.D. degree, but considered his published work as equivalent to Ph.D.
It was for the Selection Committee to assess the merit of the candidate. It
was not the case of the management that the Selection Committee had
B
erred in its assessment. The case of the management was that the two
nominees of BHU, one of whom was an expert in the subject had failed to
attend the Selection Committee meeting. If that be so, it was for the
management to arrange a proper meeting of the Selection Committee. The
management did not call for another meeting of the Selection Committee
C but implemented its decision in its own way. The Selection Committee
recommended Tripathi to be appointed on permanent basis. The manage-
ment appointed Tripathi on ad hoc basis on the plea that the two experts
from BHU had failed to attend the meeting. If the meeting was not held
properly, then the College authorities should not have acted on the basis
D ~f the recommendation of the Selection Committee at all. In fact, no
attempt was made by the College authorities to convene another meeting
of the Committee to assess the merit of the candidates. In other words, the
management accepted the decision of the Selection Committee and
Tripathi was allowed to function as Lecturer in English on ad hoc basis
from 12th December, 1989 to 31st October, 1990. Tripathi had duly com-
E pleted his Ph.D. thesis. There was some delay in obtaining the degree
because of a fracture suffered by his St!pervisor, but ultirr1atcly, he obtained
his Ph.D. Degree. His prayer is to regularise his appointment

At the point of time when Madhu Kapoor was appointed as Lecturer
F in 'English, Tripathi's ad hoc appointment stood terminated. Tripathi had
accepted the ad hoc appointment after making some protests but actually
worked .on ad hoc basis and even got an extension of the appointment on
ad hoc basis. It was clearly explained to Tripathi at the time of his
appointment that if he obtained his Ph.D. within a short time, his appoint-
ment will be made permanent. It has been stated on behalf of the appellant
G that the appointment was given on the basis of an assurance given by
Tripathi to the Selection Committee. Unfortunately, Tripathi could not get
his Ph.D. Degree within a reasonable time after his appointment. The
management of the College, thereafter, decided not to grant any further
extension to the ad hoc appointment of Tripathi and proceeded to adver-
H tise the post once again and appointed Madhu Kapoor as Lecturer. It is
COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENTVASANTA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN v. T.N. TR!PATHI [SEN, J.) 65

true that Tripathi had filed writ petitions challenging the advertisement and A
termination of his service. Tripathi coukl not get any interim orders as a
result of which Madhu Kapoor's appointment was made unconditionally
on permanent basis.

What happened thereafter was a fortuitous event. Madhu Kapoor
after only three years' service resigned. The post was readvertised. During B
the three years' tenure of Madhu Kapoor, the respondent did not question
the validity of Madhu Kapoor's appointment at all nor did he stake any
claim to the post occupied by her. The resignation of Madhu Kapoor could
not give rise to any right to the respondent. It is true that in the meantime,
he had obtained Ph.D. It is also true that the conditions of recruitment had c
been relaxed to enable an otherwise qualified person to obtain a Ph.D.
Degree within a period of eight years from the date of appointment. But
the case of the respondent has to be seen on the basis of the rules in force
at the time of his appointment.

The respondent's contention that he had published works equivalent D
to Ph.D. at the time of appointment cannot be accepted. He stated that he
had submitted four papers. But the papers were not published on the date
of his appointment. He had not given any particulars about the journals or
persons to whom he had submitted his papers for publication. The only
concrete thing he stated was that he had written four books on English E
Grammar for school children. But these were elementary works which
could not be treated as equivalent to Ph.D. in English.

The respondent contended that the Selection Committee was satis-
fied as to the quality and standard of the work done by him. The College
management has pointed out that the experts from BHU failed to attend F
the Selection Committee meeting. The other expert who was in the Com-
mittee was the Supervisor of the respondent himself. In any event, the
appellant-College being the appointing authority was entitled to appoint
the respondent on ad hoc basis giving a chance to him to obtain his Ph.D.
Degree within a reasonable time.
G
We are of the view that the contention of the appellant-College must
be upheld. Although, there was considerable laxity on the part of the
College authorities in the way they have handled the case, we are of the
view that without strong grounds being made out, it would not be right to
unseat the person who has now been appointed as Lecturer in English H
66 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 9 S.C.R.
A pursuant to the second advertisement. The writ-petitioner was not qualified
to be appointed as Lecturer when he made his application pursuant to the
advertisement dated 12th August, 1989. Even then he was appointed on ad
hoc basis and was given a chance to acquire the requisite qualification
within a brief period. His ad hoc appointment was extended once and
B thereafter it was not extended. The petitioner did not have any subsisting
right for continuation of service at that point of time. His position has not
improved by the acquisition of the Ph.D. Degree in January, 1991 after he
ceased to be a lecturer even on an ad hoc basis. He could have applied in
response to the advertisements that were issued subsequently. He chose
not to do so. We do not find any merit in the writ petition. There is no
C reason to treat him as Lecturer even after the period of ad hoc appoint-
ment was over and Madhu Kapoor functioned as Lecturer in English for
a period of more than three years.

In that view of the matter, this appeal is allowed. The order of the
High Court dated 23.12.1994 is set aside. There will be no order as to costs.
D
v.s.s. Appeal allowed.