NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY vs CHANDRA SHEKHAR CHADUHARY

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Jharkhand High Court, affirming the dismissal of the writ petition filed by an Associate Professor seeking permission to pursue a Ph.D. at IIT Madras. The Court noted that the refusal was based on the established norm that staff strength should not fall below 70%, and later 85%, as per the administrative decision by the Ministry of Human Resources Development. The Court found no arbitrariness or discrimination in the appellant's decision to deny permission, thus maintaining the integrity of institutional staffing requirements.