The Supreme Court has invalidated the appointment of 1,158 assistant professors and librarians in Punjab, citing significant lapses and irregularities in the recruitment process.
The apex court overturned a September 2024 decision by a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had earlier upheld the legitimacy of these appointments.In its ruling, the Supreme Court found the selection process to be arbitrary and non-compliant with established recruitment rules and procedures.
The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Punjab government for failing to give a convincing explanation about how the appointments were handled. The recruitment process had started back in October 2021, when the Punjab Director of Higher Education issued a public notice inviting online applications for assistant professor and librarian posts across various subjects. Interestingly, the announcement was made just ahead of the state assembly elections.
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But soon after, the process drew legal attention. Several candidates went to court, alleging that the merit-based selection process was deeply flawed and unfair. In response, inquiry panels were set up to investigate the complaints. After examining the findings and hearing all sides, the Supreme Court expressed serious concern over how the entire recruitment exercise had been managed by the state.
The bench concluded that the process lacked both fairness and transparency. In light of this, the court has directed the Punjab government to begin a fresh recruitment drive. This time, the court stressed, the process must strictly follow University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines to ensure a fair, merit-based, and legally sound selection of candidates.
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