This case involves a dispute over the appointment of Priya Varghese as an Associate Professor at Kannur University in Kerala, India. The controversy arose because the Kerala High Court allowed the inclusion of the period spent by Priya Varghese pursuing her Ph.D. as teaching experience, making her eligible for the position.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Kerala High Court's order, seeking to challenge the decision that counted the period spent on her Ph.D. as teaching experience. The SLP was presented before a division bench comprising Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice K V Viswanathan in the Supreme Court.

During the hearing, the Additional Solicitor General representing the UGC requested the court to keep the Kerala High Court's order in abeyance. However, Priya Varghese's counsel argued that she had already been appointed and requested the court to maintain the status quo.

In June 2023, Priya Varghese appealed the earlier decision, and a different division bench comprising Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias C P set aside the single bench's order. They held that the period spent pursuing her Ph.D. under the Faculty Development Programme should not be excluded while considering her teaching experience.

Earlier, in November 2022, a Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran had ruled that Priya Varghese lacked the required teaching experience for the Associate Professor position at Kannur University and directed the university authorities to reconsider her credentials.

The High Court's decision was based on interpreting Regulation 3.11 of the UGC Regulations, 2018, which pertains to the exclusion of Ph.D. periods for non-faculty members from teaching experience. However, if the Ph.D. is pursued by regular faculty members while they are engaged in teaching, then the period can be counted as teaching experience.

The High Court observed that the Ph.D. period spent under the Faculty Development Programme should not be excluded from Priya Varghese's teaching/research experience. The court cited encouragement of research work among the teaching community as indicated in the UGC Regulations, 2018, adopted by the State Government and applicable to Kannur University.

Additionally, the court ruled that the period spent by Varghese on deputation as Director of Student Services/National Service Scheme (NSS) should be considered as teaching experience by the University. The court justified this decision by stating that not recognizing such experience as teaching would deter teachers from taking up administrative positions, potentially affecting career progression in academia.

The High Court ordered that Priya Varghese's candidature for the Associate Professor position should be reconsidered in light of its observations.

The Supreme Court issued a notice on the UGC's SLP and made it clear that the appointment made based on the disputed High Court order would be subject to the final outcome of the appeal. The case is being closely watched due to the potential implications it may have on the criteria for teaching appointments in academic institutions.

Case Title: University Grants Commission v. Priya Varghese (SLP(C) No. 15816/2023)