A little over a month after renowned environmental historian, political commentator and Delhi University professor Mahesh Rangarajan took charge as director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library — one of the country's top centres for research on modern Indian history — the Delhi High Court has struck down his appointment on the grounds of an invalid selection process.
Dr. Rangarajan's appointment was challenged in court by Shri Kishan, a history professor at M.D. University, Rohtak. He felt he was a potential candidate for the job, but had been excluded from consideration because the application process was not open.
“As a public, government-funded institution, NMML was required to invite applications for the position, with widely circulated advertisements, employment exchanges and so on,” said Suhail Dutt, senior counsel for Dr. Kishan. “But NMML, instead followed a process of inviting applications through personal contacts ... They acted like a private club.”
Official sources dispute that, noting that 40-50 applications were received but found unsuitable. However, in the absence of an advertisement, Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw ruled that the appointment process was legally untenable and invalid. “The petition is … allowed. The procedure adopted by the Society in the matter of appointment of Mr. Rangarajan is held to be in violation of the prescribed procedure and the law. Consequently the appointment of Mr. Rangarajan to the post of Director of the Society is set aside and quashed and the Society is directed to — as expeditiously as possible and at the latest within a period of three months from today — make a fresh appointment,” Justice Endlaw said.
Since Dr. Rangarajan's suitability and qualification for the job have not been questioned in any way, he will remain as director in the interim. The judge gave NMML the option to re-appoint Dr. Rangarajan to the post as per the established procedure if he is found to be the candidate best suited for the post.
Apart from being the repository for valuable archival material pertaining to modern Indian history, NMML has traditionally had a vibrant programme of academic seminars. The intellectual reputation of the institution was seen as waning in recent years and the appointment of Dr. Rangarajan was widely welcomed by scholars and academics.
Mr. Dutt said all previous directors at NMML had been appointed through an open and widely advertised application process, and questioned why it should have been different this time around. Culture ministry sources told The Hindu that what has been raised is a “technical issue” and that the government will comply with the court's order. The sources said an advertisement was put out before the appointment of the previous director, Mridula Mukherjee, but the applications received were unsuitable. Eventually, Dr. Mukherjee was invited to apply and she was selected.
Incidentally, another group of well-known historians — Bipan Chandra, Shireen Mousvi, Irfan Habib, Arjun Dev and D.N. Gupta — have also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the selection process and the executive committee's decision to amend the rules and extend eligibility for the director's post to non-historians. Dr. Rangarajan, however, is a historian, so the question would appear to be moot.
