Court Upholds Principle of Fairness and Administrative Consistency, Orders Reinstatement of Dr. Gyanendra Pratap Singh
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, has quashed the arbitrary cancellation of Dr. Gyanendra Pratap Singh's appointment as Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya. The court found that the cancellation violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.
The bench, comprising Justices Mr. Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai, emphasized that the State's action in setting an unreasonable deadline for Dr. Singh to assume his new role was both arbitrary and discriminatory. Dr. Singh, a distinguished scientist and Principal Scientist at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, faced the cancellation of his appointment due to the alleged delay in joining, despite his efforts to secure a reasonable joining period.
The court noted that the petitioner, upon receiving his appointment letter on February 18, 2026, sought additional time to transition from his previous roles, which included responsibilities at two major ICAR institutes. Despite his requests, the respondents set an arbitrary deadline of March 1, 2026, for Dr. Singh to join, a timeframe that the court found unreasonably short given his impending superannuation on March 31, 2026.
Highlighting a similar case involving Dr. Abhijeet Mitra, who was allowed a four-month joining period as Vice-Chancellor of another institution, the court criticized the lack of consistency in administrative practices. The judgment underscored that Dr. Singh had a legitimate expectation of a reasonable joining period, as established by past practices.
The court's decision mandates that Dr. Singh be allowed to take up his Vice-Chancellor role immediately and directed the respondents to facilitate his joining within ten days of the order. This ruling reinforces the importance of fairness and administrative consistency in government actions and appointments.
Bottom line:-
Appointment and administrative discretion - Arbitrary cancellation of appointment due to unreasonable joining time - Violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and principles of fairness and administrative consistency.
Statutory provision(s): Article 14 of the Constitution of India
Dr. Gyanendra Pratap Singh v. State of U.P., (Allahabad)(DB)(Lucknow) : Law Finder Doc id # 2910622
