Court Restrains Kashmir University from Arbitrarily Replacing Contractual Faculty
Srinagar, KNT: In a significant ruling, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has barred the University of Kashmir from replacing its existing contractual or academic arrangement-based teaching staff with fresh hires on similar terms. The court made it clear that such faculty can only be replaced through a regular selection process, not by another batch of ad hoc appointees.
The judgment, delivered by Justice Sanjay Dhar, came while disposing of over two dozen petitions, including the lead case Dr Saba Manzoor Ganai & Others vs. University of Kashmir. The petitioners, many of whom had been serving for years, challenged the university’s recurring practice of advertising new posts at the end of each academic session, effectively pushing them out despite their experience.
Justice Dhar cited key Supreme Court and High Court judgments affirming that ad hoc employees cannot be substituted by other ad hoc hires, terming such practices unfair and violative of constitutional principles. The court strongly rejected the university’s justification that fresh advertisements aimed to attract “better talent,” noting that such arbitrary replacement harms academic continuity and student interest.
The court also criticised the university’s hiring practices in the Department of Law, where most posts were left to be filled by guest or visiting faculty instead of regular appointments, calling it contrary to the Bar Council of India’s Rules of Legal Education, 2008, which mandate a minimum number of full-time faculty. [KNT]
