Patna: Expressing anguish over the plight of job aspirants awaiting the final outcome of the recruitment process for assistant professors of history and geography in colleges across Bihar, the Patna high court has directed the Bihar State University Service Commission (BSUSC) to issue appointment letters to candidates already selected for the two subjects.The recruitment process has been embroiled in a three-year legal battle in the high court over certain “procedural mis-steps” by the BSUSC, particularly in implementing reservation policies and addressing creamy layer issues.A division bench of Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice Harish Kumar, while hearing a batch of intra-court appeals filed by the BSUSC against 26 writ petitioners, passed its verdict on Oct 5, 2026.The verdict became public on Monday.The bench directed that all cases relating to the appointment of assistant professors in history and geography be placed before a single bench, which must complete the hearing within six weeks.Expressing concern over bureaucratic delays “devouring human hopes and values for noble services of teaching”, the bench observed that nearly five years had elapsed since the recruitment advertisement was issued on Sept 21, 2020. It noted that many petitioners had either crossed the prescribed age limit or were about to do so, potentially frustrating their employment prospects.The bench observed that the delay raised concerns under Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution.The judges also clarified that any appointment letters issued to candidates selected for the posts of assistant professor in history and geography must carry an explicit caveat stating that their selection would remain subject to the final outcome of the proceedings before the single bench, which is to complete the hearing within six weeks.
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