A judgment by Allahabad High Court setting aside the promotion of a faculty member at Banaras Hindu University on the ground that procedures were not followed has cast a shadow on the appointments and promotions of more than 100 teachers in the last three years.

A division bench of Justices Sudhanshu Chauhan and Saral Srivastava last month directed the university to hold fresh selection for the post of professor in the department of dance, faculty of performing arts, BHU.

The case was filed by Dipanwita Singh Roy, an associate professor who was rejected by the selection committee for promotion as professor through the career advancement (CAS) scheme. Another faculty member was selected and promoted to the post.

BHU issued the advertisement in September 2023. The petitioner challenged the constitution of the selection committee in the absence of the executive council, the competent authority in this matter.

Her earlier writ petition had been dismissed by a single judge, after which she approached the division bench through a special appeal.

According to the Banaras Hindu University Act and Statutes, the executive council nominates members to the selection committee. The council is also entrusted with the duty to approve the recommendation of the selection committee before it is implemented. At BHU, the executive council was defunct from June 2021 to July 2025 as the Visitor, the President of India, had not nominated any members to the top body.

Since the executive council was defunct, the then vice-chancellor, S.K. Jain, used emergency powers under Section 7C(5) of the Act that empowers him to take steps during an emergency without waiting for the executive council to constitute selection committees for appointments and promotion of faculty members. The VC, however, used this power to issue appointment letters.

The VC had to seek approval from the executive council at its next meeting on the actions taken. Since the executive council never met because it was defunct, no approval was taken. After the council was formally constituted by the Visitor in 2025, the appointments and promotions made during this period were approved by it.

The court held that the VC has to form an opinion that the emergency was such that it required immediate action. However, no material has been placed on record to indicate that any such opinion had been formed by the VC.

Om Shankar, former head of the cardiology department, said the judgment should not be considered an isolated case. It has a far-reaching impact, he said.

"The same violations were made in all appointments and promotions during the last three years. Due procedure as prescribed has not been followed. So, my understanding is that the judgment has cast a shadow on all other appointments and promotions made during the tenure of the former VC," Shankar said.