Court quashes appointments in Madras Institute of Development Studies

Updated on: Friday, February 03, 2012

The Madras High Court has quashed an order of August 2006 of the Director of the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Adyar, here, approving the appointment of four persons to the post of Associate Professor in the institute.

Originally, K. Sivasubramaniyan filed a writ petition seeking to quash an order dated August 14, 2006 of the Director so far as it related to the selection of Associate Professors. A single Judge dismissed the petition as not maintainable. Hence, the present appeal by Dr. Sivasubramaniyan.

Dr. Sivasubramaniyan said he was the senior-most candidate in terms of experience and research qualifications among the selected candidates. He ought to have been selected for the post. The non-selection was unfair and unjust.

Allowing the writ appeal, a Division Bench comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and R. Subbiah did not agree with the single Judge's finding that the institute could never be treated as a “State” or performing any public function or that any public law element was involved in the functioning of the institute.

The Bench held that the writ petition was well maintainable. The appellant's case was that there was a variation in the advertisement from the MIDS Faculty Recruitment Rules. As such the entire process of selection was void.

Contrary to rules

The Bench said contrary to the rules, three noted social scientists from university did not find place on the selection committee. But, in the counter filed by the MIDS, these facts were not denied by the institute.

Therefore, the Bench said it was of the opinion that the advertisement issued by the institute and the constitution of the selection committee were totally contrary to rules.

Court quashes appointments in Madras Institute of Development Studies

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