National School of Drama Director appointment rejection upheld by Delhi HC

A bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh stated that there were valid reasons for the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) to decline Kurup's candidacy.

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has upheld the Union Ministry’s Department of Personnel and Training’s decision to reject the appointment proposal for Dr. J Thulaseedhara Kurup as the director of the National School of Drama (NSD).

A bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh stated that there were valid reasons for the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) to decline Kurup’s candidacy.

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Justice Singh said that after reviewing the case comprehensively, including original files presented by the Ministry of Culture, the court found no grounds to interfere with the decision dated January 29, 2022.

“…considering the entirety of the matter, the facts, circumstances, submissions, objections, the contents of the impugned order and, most importantly, the contents of the original files as placed before this Court by Ms. Anjana, Under Secretary, Ministry of Culture, this Court does not find any reason to interfere with the impugned order dated 29th January 2022. There were adequate reasons for the ACC for not accepting the proposal for consideration of the petitioner’s candidature for the post of Director at respondent no. 3/NSD,” the court observed.

The judge dismissed Kurup’s plea against the ministry’s decision and said that sufficient reasons were provided for the non-approval of Kurup’s candidature.

Kurup had applied for the director’s post in 2018 and later discovered, through an Right to Information (RTI) application, that he had ranked first in merit. Despite this, his appointment was denied, leading him to file petitions.

However, the court said that the ACC’s role is not judicial and that there was no obligation to provide explicit reasons for the decision.

“…apart from the position settled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the fact remains that in the instant case, the ACC was informed about all the relevant factors and considerations necessary for deciding the case of the petitioner. There were sufficient reasons recorded in the detailed note placed before the ACC by the Ministry of Culture. Therefore, this Court does not find any force in the arguments advanced on behalf of the petitioner that there were no justifiable reasons for non-approval of the petitioner’s candidature,” the court said.

Justice Singh stated that the decision-making process was adequately deliberated upon, with relevant factors considered, and the court found no gross illegality in the committee’s decision.

The court noted that administrative decisions need not be scrutinised as long as the principles of natural justice are upheld.

“…the Courts need not interfere in administrative decision making so long as the principles of natural justice are observed and there is no gross illegality in the decision made by a Committee making decisions regarding services,” the court noted.