MADURAI: Observing that the National Institutes of Technology could be an instrument of technological and scientific development and thus only the highest merit should rule the recruitment and promotion policy of the premier institution, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court declared as ‘invalid’ the recent amendment made to the First Statutes of NIT-T, omitting the word ‘promotion’ from the statute, by citing procedural lapses.
Though the amendment, which was notified on June 14, 2023, and came into force on July 8, 2023, was not challenged before the court, it came up for discussion in a batch of three petitions filed by Teachers Association of NIT and R Mohan, to quash a clarification issued by the Union Ministry of Education on April 16, 2019, and a recruitment notification issued by NIT-T, on June 14, 2023, on the grounds that both affected the promotion prospects of the existing staff. While disposing of the petitions, the clarification was struck down by the court in its entirety, and a part of the recruitment notification, that ran contrary to the existing statutes, was quashed.
Justice L Victoria Gowri, in her 95-page order, pointed out that though the NIT Act, 2007, the First Statutes, 2009, and the Amendment Statutes, 2017 provide for the promotion of the staff working in NITs, the ministry nullified the same by issuing an executive order in the form of the clarification by introducing the expression ‘by appointment through direct recruitment’ in the place of the expression ‘promotion’.
Citing various judgments, she observed, “The government cannot amend or supersede statutory rules by administrative instructions or executive orders. Such administrative instructions, even if issued without contravening the statutory rules, shall supplement the statutory rules, but not supplant the same,” and quashed the clarification for superseding the Principal Act, 2007 (NIT Act, 2007).
Moving on to decide the validity of the recruitment notification, issued to fill up academic staff vacancies in NIT-T through direct recruitment alone, Justice Gowri pointed out that Section 24 of the Principal Act, 2007 makes it clear that all appointments of staff of every NITs (except director and deputy director) should be made in accordance with the procedures laid down in the statute. While existing statutes clearly state that vacancies in academic staff should be filled by direct recruitment and promotion according to ratio as per the recruitment rules, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of NIT-T hurriedly notified an amendment to the statute on June 14, 2023 (the same day the recruitment notification was passed) to omit the word ‘promotion’ in the statute.
The judge opined that the manner in which the amendment was brought is in violation of the procedure laid out in Section 26 of the Principal Act, 2007. “The Centre has taken a lead role in making the amendment by usurping the powers and duties of the Board of Governors and reducing them to mere rubber stamps of the government,” she criticised and held that due to the said procedural lapses, the amendment would stand vitiated and the recruitment notification would become legally unsustainable.