PhD Requirement For Higher Pay To Lecturer Not Violative Of Articles 14, 16: Delhi High Court Upholds AICTE Norms

The Delhi High Court has upheld the validity of the All India Council for Technical Education's (AICTE) prescription of a PhD degree as an eligibility condition for granting a higher Academic Grade Pay (AGP) of ₹10,000 to lecturers in government polytechnic institutions.

A Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan observed,

“The differentiation between Lecturers possessing a Ph.D. qualification and those who do not cannot be said to be arbitrary, discriminatory, or violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. The prescription of higher academic qualifications for advancement in pay and career progression is a matter falling squarely within the domain of the statutory expert body, namely AICTE, and does not warrant interference in exercise of the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court.”

The Court thus dismissed a batch of petitions filed by lecturers working under Delhi government, who were aggrieved that their juniors with PhDs were granted the higher AGP of ₹10,000, while they (not possessing PhD qualifications) continued at AGP ₹9,000.

The Court noted that while Ph.D. was not an essential or mandatory qualification for appointment as Lecturers in technical institutions, AICTE later introduced a distinction between Lecturers (Selection Grade/Grade-IV) with Ph.D. and those without, for the purpose of grant of Academic Grade Pay.

It held that AICTE, as a statutory expert body, is empowered to prescribe qualifications, service conditions and pay scales for teachers in technical institutions.

“The measure is also intended as an incentive to encourage teachers to pursue higher qualifications. The law itself recognizes distinct categories of teachers, those with Ph.D. qualifications and those without, and permits different entitlements accordingly,” it noted.

Reliance was placed on All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society vs. State of Maharashtra (2025) where the Supreme Court upheld a similar distinction in the context of Assistant Professors, validating the expert body's discretion to prescribe academic qualifications for advancement in pay and career progression.

Finding no infirmity in the orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal, which had earlier rejected the lecturers' claims, the High Court dismissed the pleas.

Appearance: Mr. Kumar Rajesh Singh & Ms. Punam Singh, Advs. for Petitioners; Mrs. Avnish Ahlawat, Standing Counsel-GNCTD (Services), Mr. Uday Singh Ahlawat, Mrs. Tania Ahlawat, Mr. Nitesh Kumar Singh, Ms. Aliza Alam and Mr. Mohnish Sehrawat, Advs. for R-1/GNCTD (M: 9313964463) Mr. B.S. Rawat, CI/DTTE for R-2 (M: 9868747374) Ms. Pearl Sharma, Adv. for R3/AICTE

Case title: Sunil Kumar Tiwari And Ors. v. Govt. Of Nct Of Delhi And Ors.

Case no.: W.P.(C) 9163/2018

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