The petitioner, Advocate Sanjai D Rajan, claimed to be a practicing lawyer from Thiruvananthapuram with over 15 years experience at the Bar and enrolled with the Bar Council of Kerala. He further claimed to be a public spirited person who is on a crusade to improve the standards of legal education in India.
Rajan’s plea contended that the appointment of Mahadev as Registrar of the NUALS was done in violation of UGC Regulations and mandates.
It was pointed out that the NUALS Regulations, 2006 state that the minimum qualification for direct recruitment to the post of Registrar is 3 years of administrative experience. However, as per a 1998 UGC Notificiation on minimum qualification for appointments of teachers in universities and colleges the minimum qualification is 15 years of administrative experience, out of with 8 years experience must be as Deputy Registrar.
Therefore, the provision of the NUALS Regulations in this regard is contended to be per se illegal and unsustainable in law. As far as the appointment of Mahadev is concerned, it is argued that he does not meet the criteria set out by the UGC.
Rajan thus moved the High Court seeking a writ of quo warranto to quash Mahadev’s appointment as Registrar of NUALS.
Source: Barandbench
