Ambika bhardwaj
Published On: February 01, 2022 at 16:44 IST
A Writ Petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court questioning the process that resulted in the appointment of Dr. Nazim Hussain Al-Jafri as a Professor in the Department of History and Culture at Jamia Millia Islamia.
The Case was listed before Justice Yogesh Khanna who has fixed it for hearing after 2 weeks. In the meantime, both parties have been asked to submit Written Submissions.
The Plea was filed by Mohammad Javed Malik, who claimed to be an Alunmus of JMI’s Faculty of Law. He asserts that Dr. Nazim has no teaching experience, did not apply for the position and did not appear before the Selection Committee.
But still, he was appointed to the position and it violates the Jamia Millia Islamia Act of 1988 and the UGC Regulations.
JMI released an advertisement welcoming applications in different departments of the University in June 2021. The Screening Committee had shortlisted and interviewed numerous applicants by December 2021 but none had been appointed to the position of Professor.
However, it is claimed that the Vice Chancellor unilaterally assigned Dr. Nazim Hussain Al-Jafri to the post of Professor in the Department of History & Culture in January 2022.
The Plea states the following,“The following day, the JMI Public Relations Officer put out A Press release asserting that the Executive Council has accepted the appointment of Dr. Nazim Hussain Al-Jafri.”
The Petitioner requested that a Writ of Quo Warranto should be issued declaring that Dr. Nazim’s appointment violates the JMI Act and the UGC Regulations as well as Articles 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution.
Advocate M. Sarwar who represented the Petitioner asked the Court to order the release of all official records that are related to Dr. Nazim’s appointment.
ASG Chetan Sharma who represented JMI, read a non-obstinate clause in Statute 25 (8) with Section 11 (3) of the UGC Regulations, 2018 which states that the Vice Chancellor has the authority to welcome individuals of specific esteem to become Professor in Jamia Milia Islamia.
