High Court invalidates GO 248 in KU faculty recruitment dispute

On Thursday, the High Court issued its judgment, effectively nullifying the GO. Consequently, the university administration is now compelled to terminate other faculty members as a result of this ruling. 

Warangal: With the High Court of Telangana declaring GO 248, issued by the State government on December 12 last year, as null and void, the Kakatiya University, Warangal is preparing for the consequent action.

The court decision pertains to the formation of a committee tasked with making the final judgment on the faculty appointments made in 2010 at KU. The HC’s verdict, delivered on Thursday, questioned the government’s decision to constitute a committee to consider grievances raised by other teachers since two teachers- Dr Ch Sravanti and Dr Gouda Rajender- were already terminated from the Zoology Department.

---

A few candidates had taken the matter to the Supreme Court, challenging the appointments of 38 Assistant Professors who were selected during the tenure of the then Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof N Lingamurthy in 2010.

Following this, the university’s governing body established a sub-committee in 2019 which rejected the appointments of faculty members across various departments.

The then Registrar, Prof K Purushottam, forwarded the case to the State government for a final decision. In March last year, the university terminated Sravanthi and Rajender based on the decision of the Executive Council (EC).

Subsequently, in December last year, the government issued GO 248 with the intent to address all concerns and make a decision regarding the issue.

In response to the GO, Dr Vinatha Nayani and Dr Anjan Rao approached the High Court, challenging the government’s decision. After considering their arguments, the court issued an interim order prohibiting the committee from convening until a final verdict was reached.

On Thursday, the High Court issued its judgment, effectively nullifying the GO. Consequently, the university administration is now compelled to terminate other faculty members as a result of this ruling.