New Delhi: The Supreme Court ordered that the University Grants Commission’s notification that PhD holders need not qualify the National Eligibility Test for appointment as teachers in universities would have a retrospective effect. The bench headed by Justice UU Lalith passed the order while upholding the appointment of Dr MS Jayakumar as a professor in the department of Sociology by the University of Kerala in 2012. The apex court struck down the Kerala High Court’s order that pronounced the appointment illegal. Clarity was made on the guidelines that were approved in 2016 about the minimum eligibility required for university professors.

The bench that also comprised Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudamshu Dhulia noted that if a law or an amendment possesses an explanatory nature, then it would have a retrospective effect. Besides, the Supreme Court observed that the UGC might have decided that PhD holders do not require NET qualification, considering the candidates’ in-depth knowledge in the subject and other experiences.

NET and PhD

As per the regulation on minimum qualification for appointment of university professors that was promulgated in 2000, NET qualification was mandatory for appointment to the post of ‘Lecturers’ However, relaxation was given to those who had submitted PhD theses before 1993 or had earned MPhil degree. Later, the guideline that PhD holders do not require NET qualification was introduced in the PhD Regulations, 2009. But, it created confusion about those who got PhD without qualifying NET before 2009. Following this, the UGC introduced amendments that are explanatory in nature in 2016 and 2018. As per these, the candidates who have completed PhD before and after 2009 need not be NET qualified to be appointed as professors. The court has now clarified that these amendments have a retrospective effect.