The Kerala High Court on Thursday set aside an order of a single judge that directed the Kannur University to reconsider the teaching experience of Priya Varghese and decide whether she should continue on the rank list for the post of Malayalam Associate Professor in the university.

Priya Varghese is the wife of KK Ragesh, private secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

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While setting aside the order of the bench, a division bench comprising Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias C P held that the period spent by Priya Varghese on pursuing her Ph.D. degree under the Faculty Development Programme could not be excluded while considering the period of teaching experience. Regulation 3.11 of the UGC Regulations, 2018 was the relevant provision here, which reads as:

“The time taken by candidates to acquire M.Phil. and/or Ph.D. Degree shall not be considered as teaching/research experience to be claimed for appointment to the teaching positions. Further the period of active service spent on pursuing Research Degree simultaneously with teaching assignment without  any kind of leave, shall be counted as teaching experience for the purpose of direct recruitment/promotion,”  the court said.

Interpreting this provision, the division bench held that the Ph.D period of candidates who are not at faculty members will be excluded from teaching experience. However, if the research degree is pursued by regular faculty members simultaneous with the teaching assignment, then the period will be counted as teaching experience.

The court also reckoned the period she spent on deputation as Director of Student Services/Programme Coordinator of the National Service Scheme (NSS) of Kannur University as teaching experiences.

The court further held that she was also entitled to reckon the second spell of 8 months and 24 days from June 5, 2002 to February 28, 2003 spent by her as lecturer at the Teacher Education Centre at Kannur University on ad hoc/contract basis as teaching experience as Assistant Professor. However, she could not count her first spell of  eight  months that was rendered prior to her attaining NET qualification.

A  Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran In November 2022, had held that Priya Varghese did not possess the requisite teaching experience, to be  appointed as Associate Professor at the Department of Malayalam at Kannur University and directed the competent authority of the University to  reconsider her credentials and decide whether she should continue on the Rank List.

Challenging the single judge order, Priya Varghese had approached the division bench and the bench on Thursday issued orders allowing her appeal.

Dr.Joseph Skariah, who was ranked after Varghese in the Rank List, in the Rank List, had filed the writ petition challenging the inclusion of Varghese in the List stating that she was not qualified for the post of Associate Professor as she did not have the prescribed 8 years of teaching experience prescribed.

Court asks media to respect the right to privacy of the litigant

While allowing Priya Varghese’s appeal, the Kerala High Court  on Thursday made some critical observations against the media coverage of the case.

The division bench comprising Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias C P reminded the press to respect the right to privacy of the litigant and to follow responsible journalistic conduct.

The court said that  an individual’s Right to Privacy is not only against the state but also against private parties such as the media.

The court said that the press must be mindful of the harm that unjustified comments by media, often based on oral remarks of judges, could cause to litigants.