The Supreme Court directs the Centre and the IITs to abide by the quota law in the recruitment of faculty
The Supreme Court has ordered the Centre to follow the reservation policy for admission to research degree programs at IITs and for the recruitment of faculty members as laid down in the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019.
A man named S N Pandey filed a plea with the top court seeking this direction. As part of his complaint, Pandey claims the guidelines have been violated with regard to admissions into research programs and recruitment of faculty.
According to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, such reservations are required and they are being implemented before a bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar.
“Counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent has stated that a reservation is now provided for all Central Educational Institutions, including IITs, in view of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019.
The bench ordered the respondents to act in accordance with the reservation provisions contained in the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019.
It provides quotas for teaching positions in central institutions for members of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, socially and educationally disadvantaged groups, and economically disadvantaged groups. Additionally, Pandey has requested that a mechanism be established for resolving harassment complaints from students/scholars related to research work be created and a committee of technical experts be formed to evaluate the performance of the existing faculty. His complaint was filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey.
As a result of violating reservation norms, he has sought the cancellation of non-performing faculty appointments and formulation of a transparent recruitment policy. In the present case, the respondents (IITs) are disputing the constitutionality, illegality, and arbitrary nature of the admission process and appointment of faculty members to the research programs. According to the plea, the respondents do not follow the guidelines for reservation as mandated by the Constitution.”
In its complaint, the IITs claimed the recruitment process for faculty members was not transparent. As a result, non-deserving candidates have been able to gain access to prestigious institutions through connections, creating the possibility of corruption, favouritism, and discrimination, and affecting the nation’s ranking and technological growth.
There was a formal complaint that the respondents (IITs) violated reservation policies that provide 15%, 17%, and 27% reservation for socially marginalised groups, respectively.
