NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Thursday put on hold the appointment process of principal in Almora’s Adams Girls Inter College.A bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe was hearing a petition which alleged that the institution is a government-aided college and therefore, it cannot restrict appointments of various posts for one religion or any specific section of a religion. The petition said applications were sought for the principal post, but later they were informed only a Methodist could be appointed to the post."The petitioner filed the application but she was later informed that only a Methodist can be appointed to the post. She was left with no option but to approach the court," said Harendra Belwal, the counsel appearing for Preeti Lal, the petitioner.While the institution argued in the court that the right to choose the principal rests with them since the college is a minority institution, the court did not agree with the argument. The court said that an unaided institution may be free to put such procedure in place for the appointment, but not in this case as the institution is government aided. The court said that the condition put forward “does not accord with law.” "As to whether such institutions are entitled to confine the appointment to the post of principal in its college only to a particular sect of Christians, excluding others including Christians who do not belong to that particular section, necessitates examination… We are prima facie of the view that such a condition stipulated by the fifth respondent (the institution) does not accord with law," the court said.The high court stayed the appointment of the new principal and has given the college three weeks’ time to file its response.