In Brief
The Supreme Court held that Ph.D degrees awarded by open universities must be treated as equivalent to those from conventional universities for employment purposes in non-government colleges. The West Bengal College Service Commission had accepted Dr. Abdul Motin's Ph.D from Netaji Subhas Open University for the post of Principal, but a High Court judgment invalidated it, preferring Dr. Maity's degree from Calcutta University. The Supreme Court relied on the Annamalai University case and UGC communications affirming that open and conventional university degrees conforming to UGC standards are equivalent. The Court allowed the appeal and directed appointment of Dr. Motin as Principal, holding that uniform UGC standards apply to both university types.
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