Illegalities in GU Law College appointment?

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 25: The University Law College (ULC), Gauhati University, is a historically significant law college of Northeast India. It has had the credit of producing some of the brilliant advocates and judges of Assam and in the entire north-eastern region. The faculty members, including the principals-till date-are highly qualified, experienced and capable. They have been discharging their duties to the best of their abilities. Unfortutely, in the recent times this institution has been engrossed in gross irregularities and illegalities, especially in the matter of recruitment of teachers, sources alleged.

The institution is composed of various categories of teachers — the regular teachers, contractual teachers, part-time teachers and guest faculties. There are five or six contractual teachers.

According to sources, Gauhati University issued an advertisement in its website www.gu.ac.in for further appointment of eight teachers on contractual basis in University Law College. The selection process is scheduled to be held December 30, 2015. This advertisement and the recruitment (if conducted) will out and out violate the UGC regulations on  minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in univerities and colleges and measures for the maintence of standards in higher education issued on June 28, 2010.

The regulation, according to sources,  is the teachers should be appointed on contract basis only when it is absolutely necessary and when the student-teacher ratio does not satisfy the laid down norms. In any case, the number of such appointments should not exceed 10 per cent of the total number of faculty positions in a college/university. The qualifications and selection procedure for appointing them should be the same as those applicable to a regularly appointed teacher. The fixed emoluments paid to such contract teachers should not be less than the monthly gross salary of a regularly appointed Assistant Professor. Such appointments should not be made initially for more than one academic session, and the performance of any such entrant teacher should be reviewed for academic performance before reappointing her/him on contract basis for another session. If these 8 teachers on contract basis are appointed in University Law College then it will violate the UGC Regulation as it will exceed the 10 per cent of the already existing teachers of University Law College, the sources said.

Furthermore, there is Supreme Court of India verdict which deals with illegality in the appointment procedures. The SC verdict says 'mere issuance of appointment letter will confer no right- appointment of petitioner without any advertisement published, interview and in absence of recruitment rules with no clarity as to what procedure was actually adopted by selection committee for awarding marks to candidates being ex-facia illegal, issuance of appointment letters did not confer any right on them [(2014) 15 SCC 731-C]."

In 2013, three or four guest teachers were appointed in University Law College. In 2014, these teachers were converted into temporary part time teachers by violating all the recruitment rules prescribed by BCI and

UGC. In 2015, these temporary part time teachers were renewed again. This has happened for the first time in the history of Gauhati University that guest teachers were automatically converted into temporary part time teachers. This is an unprecedented affair in Gauhati University, the sources said.

In all other departments of Gauhati University, guest teachers are appointed for a single academic session. Subsequent recruitment of these teachers requires a new selection process. Unfortutely, this rule has not been followed in University Law College. The authority of University Law College has been adopting this method by keeping the Gauhati University authorities in the darkness, the sources said.  

From sources it has come to be known that Gauhati University has decided to convert these temporary part time teachers, along with two other ad hoc part-time teachers, into contractual teachers without interviewing them or without complying with the appropriate selection procedure laid down by UGC.  

According to a Regulation of Bar Council of India (BCI), there should be regular teachers and part-time teachers in every law college. If these ad hoc part-time teachers are converted to contractual teachers, then University Law College will have no part-time teachers. This will be again a clear violation of the BCI Regulation.    

Through this news item parties concerned have sought the attention of the Chancellor, Gauhati University, the Chief Minister, the Education Minister, the Vice Chancellor, Gauhati University, the Executive Council Members, Gauhati University and GUTA authority, Gauhati University for action to nip this conspiracy and corruption in the bud.