Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 2: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Jammu Bench has quashed the Jammu University’s advertisement inviting fresh applications to replace existing contractual faculty with another set of contractual appointees, terming the move illegal and arbitrary.
The order was passed by a Bench comprising Judicial Member Rajinder Singh Dogra and Administrative Member Ram Mohan Johri, while deciding five connected cases filed by lecturers working on academic arrangement basis in different campuses of the University.
The petitioners—Dr Harpreet Kaur (Punjabi), Dr Kuldeep Raj Sharma (Chemistry), Gaurav Sharma (Management), Naveen Kumar (Geography, Bhaderwah Campus) and Dr Som Raj (Economics, Udhampur Campus)—approached the Tribunal against Advertisement Notification dated April 1, 2025 which sought fresh contractual engagements for the 2025–26 session.
The applicants submitted that they had been appointed after due selection processes since 2019, their contracts extended session after session, and could not be thrown out midway to be substituted by another batch of contractual staff.
After hearing both sides, the Tribunal relied on Supreme Court and High Court judgments including Rattan Lal Vs State of Haryana, Piara Singh, Manish Gupta , and Mushtaq Ahmed, which clearly laid down that one set of contractual/temporary employees cannot be replaced by another set of contractual/temporary employees, and can only be replaced by regularly appointed candidates through proper recruitment.
Rejecting the University’s contention that some applicants had appeared in the fresh selection process, the Tribunal held that participation does not prevent candidates from challenging the illegality of the process.
The Bench quashed April 1 notification to the extent it permits replacement of existing contractual faculty by another set of contractual and directed that the petitioners shall continue on their posts till regular recruitment is made. The University was also instructed to complete regular recruitment within six months.
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