COVID-related delay must be excluded when assessing Ph.D. qualification timelines for UGC pay-scale eligibility.

The petitioner was appointed as a lecturer in Anthropology at Saraighat College against a non-sanctioned post on 15.12.2003 and joined on 16.12.2003.

Pursuant to the Assam Government’s Office Memorandum dated 17.07.2004 concerning adjustment/regularisation of college teachers working against non-sanctioned posts, his name was included in the final seniority list of eligible teachers.

After being initially excluded from regularisation, he successfully approached the High Court in WP(C) No. 193/2018, and his service was regularised pursuant to the Court’s order dated 15.06.2018.

By order dated 31.07.2019, the petitioner was regularised as an Assistant Professor in Anthropology against a sanctioned post on fixed pay, subject to, inter alia, the condition that he qualify NET/SLET/Ph.D. within two years, failing which his service would be discontinued and he would continue to receive only fixed pay.

He joined on regularisation on 02.08.2019 and thereafter enrolled in the Ph.D. programme at Cotton University. He was admitted to the programme on 15.02.2020, but his field research was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown.

He submitted his thesis on 14.05.2025 and was declared qualified for the Ph.D. degree on 05.01.2026.

The Principal forwarded his proposal for grant of UGC pay scale with effect from 05.01.2026. The Director of Higher Education rejected the proposal on 12.06.2026 on the ground that the petitioner had not obtained the Ph.D. within two years of regularisation.

1. Whether the petitioner’s failure to obtain NET/SLET/Ph.D. within two years under Condition No. 2 of the regularisation order disentitled him from receiving UGC pay scale?

2. Whether the period prescribed for acquiring the qualification could be treated as extended to five years, after excluding the period substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown?

3. Whether the petitioner was entitled to UGC pay and allowances from the date on which he obtained his Ph.D., namely 05.01.2026?

The Court applied Condition No. 2 of the petitioner’s regularisation order dated 31.07.2019, which required acquisition of NET/SLET/Ph.D. within two years but was interpreted in light of the governing qualification framework.

It considered the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degrees) Regulations, 2016, under which a Ph.D. programme ordinarily requires a minimum period of three years and permits completion within the prescribed maximum period.

The Court relied principally on Arabinda Kumar Sharma v. State of Assam & Ors., WP(C) No. 1228/2015, judgment dated 09.11.2018, where a two-year period for acquiring NET/SLET/Ph.D. was held insufficient and a five-year period was considered necessary.

It also referred to Jyotirupa Sarma v. State of Assam, WP(C) No. 5779/2016, judgment dated 12.05.2023, where UGC pay scale was granted from the date of acquisition of the requisite qualification.

The Court further considered the analogous five-year qualification period under the Assam Venture Educational Institutions (Provincialisation of Services) Act, 2011 and the Assam Educational (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re-organization of Educational Institutions) Act, 2017.

The governing principle was that an administrative condition must be applied reasonably and cannot insist upon completion of a Ph.D. within a period that is practically impossible, particularly where the candidate diligently pursued the course and delay was attributable to an extraordinary event such as the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Court found that the petitioner had not literally obtained the Ph.D. within two years of the regularisation order, but held that strict enforcement of that period would be unreasonable because completion of a Ph.D. within two years was practically impossible and inconsistent with the applicable UGC framework.

The petitioner had promptly taken steps after regularisation, appeared for the entrance examination, secured admission, obtained institutional permission, and pursued the Ph.D. in accordance with Cotton University’s regulations.

Applying the principle in Arabinda Kumar Sharma, the Court treated five years as the reasonable period for acquiring the qualification.

Although the petitioner completed the course in five years, ten months and twenty days from initial registration, the Court found that approximately one year of the delay resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown, particularly because his Anthropology research required extensive field visits.

After excluding that period, the petitioner had completed the Ph.D. within approximately four years and ten months. Consequently, the Court held that he had substantially and effectively complied with Condition No. 2.

The Court held that the petitioner fulfilled Condition No. 2 upon being declared qualified for the Ph.D. degree on 05.01.2026 and was therefore entitled to draw pay and allowances in the UGC scale applicable to an Assistant Professor with effect from that date.

The respondent authorities were directed to authorise the UGC pay scale from 05.01.2026 and compute and release the arrears within three months of receiving a certified copy of the order along with the petitioner’s representation, after adjusting the fixed pay already paid to him.