NEW DELHI, July 15 — The Supreme Court on Monday annulled the appointment of 1,158 assistant professors and librarians in Punjab government colleges, calling the state’s recruitment process “totally arbitrary” and in violation of University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran quashed the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s September 23, 2024 verdict, which had upheld the controversial appointments. The apex court directed the state government to restart the selection process under the applicable 2018 UGC norms.
“In the case at hand, the state did not adhere to UGC regulations and took the posts out of the purview of the commission without following the procedure prescribed under the law,” the bench observed. “This was done suddenly, without any valid reason, and thus amounts to arbitrariness which cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.”
The recruitment drive, launched in October 2021 through a public notice issued by the Punjab Director of Higher Education, sought online applications for multiple faculty and librarian positions across subjects—just ahead of state Assembly elections. The selection process soon drew legal scrutiny, with several aspirants moving the high court alleging procedural irregularities.
The apex court, while allowing the appeal filed by Mandeep Singh and others, said it was fully aware that its decision would cause difficulties for the already appointed candidates. However, it noted that those appointments had been made subject to pending litigation and were never final.
“There is no equity in favour of selected candidates,” the court said. “A gross illegality like the present recruitment cannot be ignored.”
The justices also questioned the abrupt change in the selection methodology. “These were assistant professor posts for which a specialised body like the UGC has laid down a detailed process—including evaluation of academic records and a viva voce. A simple multiple-choice exam cannot alone determine merit,” the court noted.
Even if an MCQ-based test were deemed sufficient, the court said, replacing the established process with a new one without statutory backing invalidated the entire selection. “The state cannot defend such an arbitrary practice in the garb of a policy decision,” the bench ruled.
Monday’s verdict delivers a major blow to the Punjab government’s recruitment initiative and sets the stage for a fresh, UGC-compliant selection process.
