The alleged suicide of Balwinder Kaur, an unemployed assistant professor, is snowballing into a major political controversy in Punjab. Kaur, a resident of Rupnagar, was found dead on October 21. A purported suicide note blamed disputes at her home, and also named state education minister Harjot Singh Bains for the stress caused to her by not getting a job despite being selected as assistant professor. Kaur was a member of 1158 Assistant Professor and Librarians Front, a union of unemployed teachers protesting against the AAP government. Farmer unions and Opposition parties have now joined their cause, demanding Bains's arrest. The police, meanwhile, have booked Kaur's husband and father-in-law for mental cruelty and abetment to suicide. Why are they unemployed? These 1,158 appointments were made under the previous Charanjit Singh Channi government. They were later struck down by the High Court as unconstitutional. It was in October 2021, days after Channi took over as Punjab CM and just a few months before the Punjab Assembly polls, that then higher education minister Pargat Singh announced the “fulfilling of the long-pending demand” of recruitment in government colleges. He announced that “1,091 vacant posts of teaching cadre and 67 librarians” would be “filled within 45 days”. He further announced that these posts would be filled “entirely on the basis of written tests” and without any interviews. A selection committee would be formed for the purpose, under vice-chancellors of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, and Punjabi University, Patiala. Subsequently, 33 advertisements inviting applications for these posts were issued on October 19. The minimum criterion to apply was a post-graduation degree along with UGC-NET qualification. So did the selected candidates get appointment letters? Yes. Subsequently in December 2021, after 1158 candidates were shortlisted through written tests, 607 were handed over appointment letters and made to join the higher education department. Of 607, at least 135 were also issued posting orders and allotted stations of which 124 had joined duties. The remaining 483 were never made to join despite having joining letters and are now demanding the same," says Paramjit Kaur Khaira, a member of the union. How did the matter go to court? At least five petitions were filed in Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the recruitment process between November 1 and December 3, 2021. The petitioners, including some aspirants, alleged that the entire process was done in haste for political reasons. It was further alleged that the Punjab higher education department flouted University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines and also 'bypassed' the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), whose approval was mandatory for these recruitments. The petitions demanded quashing of the entire exercise. “.the UGC provides selection criteria which includes marks for academics, interview, teaching skill and for publication, etc., thus selection merely on the basis of written test is not legally permissible,” one of the petitions claimed, alleging that the constitution of the selection committee was also changed illegally. Were these issues flagged before the process started? Yes, the issues had been flagged before candidates were given appointment letters, but were overlooked. Minutes of an internal meeting held on October 9, 2021 to “review the mode of selection of assistant professors”, held under the chairmanship of then secretary, higher education, read: “The incumbent higher education minister asked the department to accomplish this task within 100 days as per decision of the government. The matter was reviewed at secretary level again. It was found that even if committee worked full day it could not interview more than 20 applicants.. This would mean 55 working days are required only for completing the interview process… the entire process will take at least 3 months… it was proposed that selection be made purely based on written test.” The same note mentions that the GNDU V-C was asked for comments, who said that “UGC guidelines are mandatory and cannot be overlooked…” The note adds that the Punjab cabinet had approved “taking out 160 posts of assistant professors” from the purview of the PPSC, to be filled directly by the selection committee. Did the PPSC object? Yes, it did. In a letter dated November 16, 2021, the PPSC secretary in a reply to the higher education secretary wrote: “It is reiterated that PPSC is a Constitutional body established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India for recruitment to all Group-A and Group-B services of the state. Therefore, taking posts out of the purview of the Commission is a gross violation of the Constitution which needs to be avoided.” What did the HC ruling say? Deciding the matter on August 8, 2022, Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu, while quashing the entire recruitment process, said: “The court is very well conscious that quashing of the impugned recruitment process may cause great hardship to the selectees on the basis of this illegal process, but it cannot be ignored that the entire exercise has been conducted in total disregard of the rule of law and in case, the same is allowed to remain alive, that would be travesty of justice.” What are the protesters demanding now? The protesters are demanding justice for Balwinder Kaur, who purportedly wrote in her suicide note that despite getting the appointment letter, she remained unemployed and had to face endless harassment for two years, due to which she suffered two miscarriages. The union, along with the SAD, BJP and Congress, are demanding the arrest of Harjot Bains under abetment to suicide charges. The teachers are also demanding immediate postings. “It has been 22 months now that despite having appointment letters in our hands, we are sitting unemployed. Why could the government not file an affidavit in the court to make us join our duties? Had CM Bhagwant Mann and Bains really bothered, a life would have been saved,” said Jaswinder Kaur, the union president. How have the govt and AAP reacted? A government functionary from the higher education department said the High Court order quashing the recruitment process had already been challenged in court. The next hearing is on November 29. After Kaur's suicide, AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang, in a post on X said, “In light of the distressing events surrounding the unfortunate demise of a woman due to harassment from her husband, it is indeed disheartening to witness the unscrupulous tactics employed by Opposition leaders. The entire ‘vulture kingdom’ has shamelessly propagated false narratives based on a purported suicide note, targeting Harjot Bains. It is a time for dignified reflection, not for the politics of character assassination and false allegations.”
