Delayed review of a settled appointment must be exercised within a reasonable time; termination based on stale reconsideration was quashed.

A settled appointment could not be annulled after an inordinate delay where the Chancellor had earlier directed appointment and the University had subsequently approved it post facto. The Court held that, even if a statutory or supervisory power of review or revision exists without a prescribed limitation, it must be exercised within a reasonable time; a challenge revived after more than eight years on the same grounds was impermissibly stale. The termination of the Assistant Registrar's service was therefore unsustainable and was quashed, with consequential service benefits directed to follow.

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Issues: Whether the termination of the petitioner's service as Assistant Registrar was sustainable, and whether the Chancellor could review the earlier approval of appointment after a long lapse of time.

Analysis: The appointment was made after the petitioner's selection by the Public Service Commission, the University had communicated vacancy details, the Chancellor had earlier directed appointment, and the Syndicate subsequently approved the appointment post-facto. The Court held that the challenge to the appointment could not be revived on the same grounds after more than eight years, since the power of review, even where available, must be exercised within a reasonable period. The belated exercise of power was found inconsistent with settled law governing stale or delayed revisional action.

Conclusion: The termination order was unsustainable and was quashed, with consequential service benefits directed to follow.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, and the petitioner's termination was set aside as an impermissibly delayed reconsideration of an appointment already acted upon and approved.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory or supervisory power of review or revision, where no limitation is prescribed, must still be exercised within a reasonable time, and a settled appointment cannot be annulled after an inordinate and unexplained delay on grounds already examined earlier.

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