Cuttack, Dec. 9: Orissa High Court today invalidated the recruitment process, which the Ravenshaw University had undertaken to fill up 140 posts for its faculty.

The university had invited applications for the posts of professors (16), readers (29) and lecturers (95) through an advertisement on June 23 last. The court quashed the advertisement as it violated the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations.

The division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice D.P. Choudhury directed the varsity to start the recruitment process afresh strictly following the UGC regulations.

In last August, the court had issued interim stay orders in response to petitions filed by applicants for the posts. The order allowed the university to continue with the selection process but restrained it from taking any final decision.

The court had taken up six petitions for hearing, along with a PIL on identical grievances related to procedures followed for the recruitment and an appeal petition seeking intervention against delay in declaration of results of selection due to the restrain orders.

It directed the university "to issue fresh advertisement within four weeks and complete the recruitment within eight weeks from the date of issue of the advertisement".

"A compliance affidavit should be filed by March 14 and the matter be listed on March 16," the court had said in its order.

The university registrar told The Telegraph: "We will take a decision only after going through the full text of the judgement."

The petitions, among other accusations, had alleged that the experience laid down for the post of readers was incongruous with the UGC rules. While the UGC prescribes eight-year teaching experience and or research in academic position, the required experience had been reduced to five years in the advertisement.

Ironically, the high court had taken up Ravenshaw University's faculty crunch along with five other universities in August last when one Dhirendranath Bhoi filed a letter petition seeking intervention against disorder in academic activities in the state-run universities due to acute shortage of teachers.

Taking note of large-scale vacancies in faculty, the high court had, on August 11 last, directed the university registrars to fill up the posts preferably within three months. The PIL is pending before the court.

Official sources said initially 153 teaching posts had been sanctioned when the Ravenshaw Autonomous College was upgraded to a unitary university. Of it, 26 posts were lying vacant when the state government sanctioned 114 more posts on June 22 last.

As on date, the selection process has completed conducting of interview for less than 100 posts in school of physical sciences, school of life sciences, school of social sciences and the school of mathematics, official sources said.