Officiating Vice-Chancellors may appoint Heads of Department as such appointments constitute routine administrative duties, not permanent staff appointments.

The appellant challenged the Single Judge’s order dated 04.02.2026, which dismissed his writ petition seeking the quashing of orders dated 14.08.2024 and 12.09.2025.

These orders appointed Prof. Mohd. Mudassir Husain as the Head of the Department (HOD) of Allied Sciences & Humanities and subsequently allowed another professor to discharge routine duties during Prof. Husain’s leave.

In 2021, Prof. Husain was due for the HOD post by seniority but was bypassed because he was on sanctioned Extraordinary Leave; Prof. Zishan Husain Khan was appointed instead.

Upon the expiry of Prof. Zishan’s term in 2024, the University appointed Prof. Husain, bypassing the appellant, by invoking Clause 2 of Ordinance 4 (IV).

The appellant contended that an officiating Vice-Chancellor (VC) lacked the authority to make such an appointment and that it violated the principle of seniority.

1. Whether the appointment of a Head of Department under Clause 2 of Ordinance 4 (IV) of the University Ordinances can be validly made by an officiating/acting Vice-Chancellor.

2. Whether the appointment of Prof. Mohd. Mudassir Husain as HOD was in derogation of the rotational seniority rules prescribed under Ordinance 4 (IV).

Ordinance 4 (IV) of the Jamia Millia Islamia Ordinances, which stipulates that HODs are appointed by rotation based on seniority for three years.

Clause 2 of said Ordinance specifically empowers the Vice-Chancellor to appoint a person as HOD if they were previously senior but could not be appointed during a prior vacancy for "any reason".

Ministry of Human Resource Development (now Ministry of Education) communication dated 09.10.2014, which permits acting VCs to perform "routine nature of works" (including temporary appointments) but prohibits "permanent teaching and non-teaching" appointments or statutory amendments.

The court reasoned that Clause 2 of Ordinance 4 (IV) provides the Vice-Chancellor with the prerogative to "correct" the rotational cycle if a senior professor was previously skipped.

Since Prof. Husain was bypassed in 2021 due to leave, his 2024 appointment was a legitimate exercise of this discretionary power.

Regarding the authority of the officiating VC, the court determined that the appointment of an HOD is an administrative assignment and "routine work" rather than an appointment to a "permanent teaching post," which the 2014 MHRD communication prohibits.

The court noted that the inter-se seniority had been recast in separate proceedings, establishing that the appellant was not the next senior-most professor in any event, thereby justifying the charge being given to Prof. Mukesh Pratap Singh during Prof. Husain’s leave.

It held that an officiating Vice-Chancellor is competent to appoint a Head of Department as it falls under the ambit of routine administrative duties and does not constitute a permanent staff appointment.

The court found no illegality in the impugned orders or the Single Judge's judgment.