Srinagar, July 24, KDC: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that service rendered on a temporary or stopgap basis by a university faculty member can be counted for career progression under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), dismissing an appeal filed by senior academic Dr. Syeda Afshana Bhat challenging the university and a fellow academic’s seniority placement.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Dhar and Justice Mohd. Yousuf Wani upheld a Single Judge verdict that dismissed Dr. Afshana’s challenge to the placement of Malik Zahra Khalid (Private Respondent No. 6) in the Senior Scale of Assistant Professor ahead of her at the Media Education Research Centre (MERC), University of Kashmir.
The dispute dates back to 2002, when Kashmir University advertised a single post of Lecturer in MERC. While Dr. Afshana was selected and appointed on a substantive basis, Malik Zahra Khalid was simultaneously appointed on a regular temporary basis.
Malik Zahra Khalid continued in that capacity until her substantive selection against a migrant vacancy in December 2007, which was subsequently confirmed in 2008. In May 2010, the University issued an order placing Malik Zahra Khalid in the Senior Scale under CAS retroactively from May 17, 2007, citing her prior temporary service and M.Phil qualification. Dr. Afshana was granted the scale from May 17, 2008, based on her postgraduate degree.
Dr. Afshana challenged the decision before the High Court in 2021, arguing that Malik Zahra’s initial 2002 temporary appointment was made against a non-existent post without proper advertisement, rendering it illegal and fraudulent. She maintained that such service could not be leveraged for CAS benefits before Malik Zahra Khalid’s substantive appointment in 2007.
Rejecting the appellant’s argument, the Division Bench noted that Malik Zahra Khalid had participated in the standard selection process in 2002 and that her services were confirmed only after her subsequent substantive appointment in 2007. The Bench observed that her initial engagement was a temporary stopgap arrangement, not an illegal or fraudulent entry into service.
”The expression used is ‘counted for promotion’, and not ‘for eligibility to promotion’. There is a fine distinction between the two expressions,” the Bench observed, underscoring a key distinction in university regulations regarding past service benefits. “When past service is to be counted for grant of higher scale and the Regulations provide that for according said higher scale under CAS… once it is shown that the said person has put in that particular number of years in service in a lower scale of pay, he becomes automatically entitled to higher scale of pay… irrespective of the fact whether or not the post in higher scale of pay is available.”
Addressing the procedural aspect, the Division Bench said that the writ petition was hit by inordinate delay and laches. Dr. Afshana had waited over a decade to legally challenge the 2010 placement order, allowing the University to act upon it and settle subsequent seniority levels up to the Associate Professor scale.
“While exercising public law jurisdiction, the Court does not encourage the agitation of stale claims, particularly in the matters of seniority and promotion, where the rights of third parties have crystallized in the interregnum,” the Court held, quoting recent Supreme Court jurisprudence to dismiss the appeal.
Appellant Dr. Syeda Afshana Bhat was represented by advocate Salih Pirzada. Respondent Malik Zahra Khalid was represented by advocate S. M. Ayoub, while advocates M. S. Latief and Asif Maqbool appeared on behalf of Kashmir University. (KDC)
