HC quashes KNIT, BIET appointments

Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court quashed the appointments made by the Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology (KNIT), Sultanpur and Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering and Technology (BIET) Jhansi, both government engineering colleges, on Wednesday. The court declared that the committees formed by the institutions for selection of faculty were not as per the prescribed rules of appointment.

The matter dates back to November when the vice chancellor of Dr Abdul Kalam Technical University, Prof Vinay Kumar Pathak, was not made the chairman of the selection committee. However as per the rules, the VC should be the chairman of the selection panel.

The posts were advertised by the Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology (KNIT) Sultanpur and Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering and Technology (BIET), Jhansi. The members of the selection committee were finalized by the principal secretary, technical education, office and retired Prof Irshad Hasnain and Prof RC Yadav, former director, were chosen as the selection committee chairmen.

Following this, VC Vinay Kumar Pathak filed a writ in the high court challenging the appointments as illegal since the selection committees were not as per the set guidelines. The writ was heard on April 12 and the appointments were declared illegal. Talking to HT, Pathak said, “This judgment has made the path of appointment clear for fair teachers. It is a message to all those who try to resort to unethical means.”

Sources said that the committees which made the appointments in the case of two colleges comprised family members of the candidates who appeared for the post of faculty. Ironically, the selections were made in favour of the family members. The court also took cognizance of the same before declaring the appointments cancelled.

THE COURT DECLARED THAT THE COMMITTEES FOR SELECTION OF FACULTY WERE NOT AS PER THE PRESCRIBED RULES OF APPOINTMENT