The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Centre and others on a petition challenging the appointment of one of the members of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI).
Justice V Kameswar Rao asked the respondents--Centre, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, Jamia Millia Islamia University and Shahid Akhter--to file their responses on the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on February 14.
According to the petition, Shahid Akhter, a professor at the Centre for Management Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, was appointed as a member, NCMEI vide a Gazette notification dated August 17, 2021, issued by the government.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Zarmina Israr Khan through advocates Shyam Krishnan and Iram Peerzada. The petitioner is presently a PhD scholar in African Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
She has sought to call the entire official records from Respondent No.1 Union of India pertaining to the impugned appointment of Dr Shahid Akhter (Respondent No. 4) as the Member, NCMEI.
The petitioner also sought to issue an appropriate direction to declare the impugned appointment of Dr Shahid Akhter (Respondent No. 4) in flagrant violation/contravention and total non-compliance with the statutory provisions and regulations of Clause-3, 4 and 5 of the NCMEI Act, 2004 read with Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, 1950 as the Member, NCMEI illegal and arbitrary.
The petitioner challenged the decision-making process in selecting and appointing Dr Shahid Akhter as Member, NCMEI, on the ground that it was not an informed process as no notification/advertisement for the post of Member was ever issued by the Ministry of Education (Respondent No. 1).
Hence being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and an appointment that is made without the issuance of an advertisement or notification suffers from a lack of transparency and objectivity and hence is ultra vires Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, read the plea.
"Hence, the entire process culminating into the impugned appointment of Dr Shahid Akhter (Respondent No. 4) is a colourable exercise of power and in flagrant violation and total non-compliance of the statutory provisions contained in Clause-3, 4 and 5 of the NCMEI Act, 2004 read with Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, 1950," it added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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