Patna High Court rules that Guest Faculty experience cannot be counted for Assistant Professor recruitment under AICTE 2019 regulations, dismissing Dr. Mamta Kumari’s petition and upholding BSUSC’s merit list.
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PATNA: In a ruling impacting faculty recruitment norms in Bihar, the Patna High Court has dismissed the writ petition filed by Dr. Mamta Kumari, who contested the BSUSC (Bihar State University Service Commission) merit list dated 14 May 2025 for the post of Assistant Professor (Management) at the L.N. Mishra Institute of Economic Development and Social Change (LNMI), Patna.
The Court, however, held that Guest Faculty experience cannot be counted under AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) Regulations, 2019, and therefore the petitioner was not entitled to the 5-mark-per-year experience weightage prescribed in the BSUSC advertisement even after 16 years of teaching experience.
ALSO READ: BSUSC Cancels Interviews Amid Patna High Court Order: Recruitment Process Under Scrutiny
What Petitioner Claimed
The petitioner claimed:
- 16 years of teaching experience, including service as Adjunct/Guest Faculty
- Eligibility for 5 marks per year of teaching experience under:
- AICTE Regulations 7.4 & 7.5, and
- Clause 5.2(B)(iii) of BSUSC Advertisement No. 01/2024
She argued that her long service and continuous engagement at LNMI qualified her for preference and a higher merit ranking.
Court’s Findings
Guest Faculty Experience Cannot Be Counted
Justice Harish Kumar relied heavily on Regulation 2.25(f) of AICTE Regulations, 2019.
The judgment quotes the regulation, which states:
“The previous appointment was not as guest faculty for any duration.”
The Court repeated this point unequivocally:
“Regulation, 2019 in unequivocal terms says that the previous appointment as Guest Faculty, any duration, shall not be counted as past services for direct recruitment.”
Petitioner Never Met Contractual or Ad-Hoc Criteria
Although the petitioner argued she was “Adjunct Faculty,” the Court examined her appointment history and found:
- She was appointed as a Guest Faculty through a 2007 advertisement.
- Her service records and certificates consistently described her as Guest Faculty.
- She was not appointed through a duly constituted Selection Committee.
- She was not paid a salary equivalent to a regular Assistant Professor.
The Court concluded:
“The petitioner had never worked as a contractual employee on temporary or ad-hoc basis.”
AICTE Regulations 7.4 & 7.5 Not Applicable
The petitioner relied on AICTE Rules 7.4 and 7.5, but the Court clarified their scope:
- Rule 7.4 “deals with nomenclature of degrees.”
- Rule 7.5 concerns “incumbent faculty members with previous qualification.”
Therefore:
“These provisions do not have much relevance for determination of the present issue.”
BSUSC Acted Lawfully; No Violation of Articles 14 & 16
After evaluating the advertisement and evaluation process, the Court found no arbitrariness:
“Petitioner lacks the minimum qualification required… hence she was declared ineligible.”
The merit list, prepared after interviews of 79 candidates, was held to be valid and in accordance with Clause 3(C)(iii), which requires a minimum of 5 years’ teaching experience on a regular/contractual basis.
The Court’s final line leaves no ambiguity:
“In view of the aforesaid facts, the present writ petition sans any merit. Accordingly, the same stands dismissed.”
The writ petition was dismissed and the petitioner was declared ineligible for experience weightage, and the BSUSC merit list dated 14.05.2025 was upheld.
The ruling reinforces that Guest Faculty or per-class engagements cannot be equated with contractual, ad-hoc, or regular teaching experience under the AICTE framework.
Appearance :
For the Petitioner: Sr. Adv. Nivedita Nirvikar, Adv. Arya Achint, Adv. Amar Shakti
For the BSUSC: Adv. Pawan Kumar
For the LNMI: Adv. Vipin Kumar
For the AICTE: Adv. Archana
Case Title:
Dr. Mamta Kumari Versus Bihar State University Service Commission (BSUSC) Through its
Chairman & Others
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.14317 of 2025
READ JUDGMENT
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