The main legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement of the petitioner to regularization from the initial date of appointment and confirmation as a full-time lecturer, based on the State Government's policy on de-reservation of posts, UGC regulations on educational qualifications, and the Government Resolution conferring Career Advancement benefits.

BHARATI H. DANGRE, J.

1. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith.

2. The petitioner, a Lecturer in Statistics working in the D.G. Ruparel College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, respondent No. 8 is constrained to invoke the writ jurisdiction of this Hon'ble Court seeking regularization of her services from initial date of appointment i.e. from 05.07.1993 and praying for appropriate directions to consider her appointment to be a regular one and further seeking direction to confer the benefits under the Career Advancement Scheme and to grant consequential benefits of a confirmed service.

3. The college in which the petitioner is working is affiliated to the University of Mumbai, respondent No. 6 in the petition.

4. The said college is in receipt of aid from the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, State of Maharashtra and the said authorities are impleaded as Respondent Nos. 4 and 5 to the said petition. In order to appreciate the grievance of the petitioner, it would be necessary to briefly delve into to the facts involved.

5. The petitioner is domiciled in State of Maharashtra and belongs to Open Category. She acquired a Post Graduate Degree i.e. M.Sc. in subject Statistics from the University of Bombay in the year 1988. She also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Software. The petitioner on the basis of the said qualifications came to be initially appointed to the post of Lecturer in Mulund College of Commerce. The services of the petitioner in the said college were approved by the University of the Mumbai in the pay scale of Rs. 2200-75-2800-100-4000.

6. On an advertisement being issued by Respondent No. 8 inviting applications for the post of lecturer in various subjects including Statistics, the petitioner responded to the said advertisement. It is to be noted that though as per the advertisement the post of lecturer in Statistics was shown as reserved for SC/ST/NT Category, the petitioner though not belonging to any of the category preferred an application against the said post. On going through the due procedure of selection by the University Selection Committee, the petitioner came to be appointed as fulltime Lecturer in Statistics in respondent No. 8college with effect from 05.07.1993, since no suitable candidate from the reserved category was available. The appointment, of the petitioner was approved by the respondent No. 6-University in the capacity of a fulltime lecturer in Statistics on temporary basis from 05.07.1993 to 20.04.1994. Her appointment, so made, was extended from time to time in the subsequent academic years without any break in service by issuing fresh appointment orders at the commencement of every academic year. Accordingly, her services were duly approved by the respondent No. 6-University as a fulltime lecturer till the academic year 2003-2004. The post of fulltime lecturer in Statistic was advertised every year by the respondent No. 8 by reflecting the post to be filled in through a “reserved category” however no candidate from reserved category was available to fill the said post.

7. The specific case of the petitioner is that from the date of her initial appointment from 05.07.1993 the petitioner is continued as a lecturer in statistics and it is the claim of the petitioner that in terms of the policy decision of the State Government as contained in Government Resolution dated 05.12.1994, the post ought to have been de-reserved by initiating process by the respondent No. 8-College, since it is the policy of the State Government that if a suitable candidate for a reserved post for SC/ST is not made available, inspite of advertising the said post consequently five times and on the sixth time by inter changing the reservation, then such college/institution is entitled to de-reserve the said post by obtaining appropriate permission. According to the petitioner since her appointment in the year 1993, the post on which she was appointed was advertised every year by the