Appointment of Art College officiating principal quashed

The Central Administrative Tribunal has quashed the appointment of Dr Alka Jain as officiating principal of Government Art College, Sector 10.

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The tribunal passed the order on an application filed by Associate Professor Dr Rajesh Kumar Sharma seeking the quashing of an order dated September 30, 2022, vide which the charge of officiating principal was granted to Dr Alka Jain.

He alleged that the charge was given to her despite the fact that she does not possess essential qualification prescribed in Recruitment Rules. Dr Sharma said he was the senior-most eligible incumbent and liable to be granted the additional charge in the light of the Punjab and Haryana High Court order dated August 31, 1995, and another order passed by this tribunal in a separate case. In the High Court order the administration was directed to follow the proper process of recruitment for the post of principal and appoint an officiating principal who is qualified under rules.

He also prayed for issuing the direction to the respondents to grant the charge of officiating principal to him for being the senior-most eligible faculty in terms of 2010 Rules and as per the past practice, and allow him to continue as principal till the regular appointment of the case. In the application, Dr Sharma said he was selected through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as lecturer at the Government College of Art in 2001 and has been serving as an Associate Professor since 2014.

The college has had no Professor since 2004.

He contended that Dr Alka Jain, Associate Professor, did not possess the requisite qualifications for the post of Principal. Her PhD is not in the relevant discipline required for the position.

He said he was given the charge of principal on March 22, 2017, until a UPSC-selected candidate could join, and had served as acting principal from March 23, 2017, to February 03, 2018. However, he expressed his unwillingness to continue due to not having completed his PhD at the time. On August 31, 1995, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the UT Administration to appoint an officiating principal who was qualified under the relevant rules. The court emphasised that the selection should comply with both the 1984 rules and the proposed rules, even if it required age relaxation, to ensure the appointee met the necessary qualifications.

He said in 1995, during the appointment process for the post of principal, the senior-most faculty member was deemed ineligible due to his MA in History of Art not aligning with the required qualifications. Consequently, the administration assigned the charge to the next senior eligible faculty member.

This approach was in line with the directives from the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order dated August 31, 1995, which emphasised appointing qualified individuals as officiating principals.

After hearing the arguments, the tribunal said upon examination, it is evident that Dr Alka Jain does not fully meet these criteria. While she possesses a BFA in Painting, her Master’s degree is in History of Art, which is under the Faculty of Arts, rather than the Faculty of Design and Fine Arts, raising doubts about its equivalence to an MFA in Fine Arts. Further, her PhD was obtained in the Faculty of Arts under the supervision of a history professor, rather than in fine arts, making its relevance to the post questionable.

As such, her qualifications do not strictly align with the prescribed requirements of the 2010 Rules.

The Tribunal said the present original application is allowed and the order dated September 30, 2022, is hereby quashed and set aside. The respondents are directed to appoint the senior-most eligible faculty member as officiating principal till the post is filled on a regular basis as per law.