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2021 Supreme(Del) 2212
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
V. Kameswar Rao, J.
Sanjeev Kumar Vishwakarma - Appellant
Versus
Union Of India & Ors - Respondent
W.P.(C) No. 9647 of 2020, 2157 of 2021, 2156 of 2021, 2155 of 2021, 2154 of 2021, 2153 of 2021, 2151 of 2021, 2150 of 2021, 2149 of 2021, 2145 of 2021, 2144 of 2021, 2143 of 2021, 2142 of 2021, 2141 of 2021, 2139 of 2021, 2126 of 2021, 2308 of 2021, 2312 of 2021, 2400 of 2021, 2401 of 2021, 2423 of 2021, 2424 of 2021, 2464 of 2021, 2645 of 2021, 2655 of 2021, 2658 of 2021, 2659 of 2021, 2660 of 2021, 2661 of 2021, 2662 of 2021, 2738 of 2021, 2765 of 2021, 9646 of 2020, 9648 of 2020, 9649 of 2020, 9650 of 2020, 9651 of 2020, 9662 of 2020, 9664 of 2020, 9665 of 2020, 9668 of 2020, 9675 of 2020, 9677 of 2020, 9678 of 2020, 9699 of 2020, 9700 of 2020, 9701 of 2020, 9702 of 2020, 9703 of 2020, 9717 of 2020, 9871 of 2020, 9872 of 2020, 9873 of 2020, 9937 of 2020, 9938 of 2020, 9945 of 2020, 10037 of 2020, 10038 of 2020, 10039 of 2020, 10042 of 2020, 10043 of 2020, 10044 of 2020, 10045 of 2020, 10047 of 2020, 10049 of 2020, 10050 of 2020, 10051 of 2020, 10095 of 2020, 10096 of 2020, 10097 of 2020, 10098 of 2020, 10099 of 2020, 10100 of 2020, 10101 of 2020,10102 of 2020, 10119 of 2020, 10171 of 2020, 10206 of 2020, 10219 of 2020, 10221 of 2020, 10272 of 2020, 10378 of 2020, 10379 of 2020, 10380 of 2020, 10392 of 2020, 10393 of 2020, 10435 of 2020, 10436 of 2020, 10437 of 2020, 10440 of 2020, 10441 of 2020, 10482 of 2020, 10493 of 2020, 10495 of 2020, 10497 of 2020, 10499 of 2020, 10501 of 2020, 10612 of 2020, 10693 of 2020, 10695 of 2020, 10697 of 2020, 10699 of 2020, 10701 of 2020, 10703 of 2020, 10707 of 2020, 10715 of 2020, 10718 of 2020, 10719 of 2020, 10720 of 2020, 10721 of 2020, 10722 of 2020,10726 of 2020, 10728 of 2020, 10730 of 2020, 10731 of 2020, 10732 of 2020, 10733 of 2020, 10734 of 2020, 10745 of 2020, 10746 of 2020, 10781 of 2020, 10788 of 2020, 10789 of 2020, 10801 of 2020, 10804 of 2020, 10933 of 2020, 10940 of 2020, 10941 of 2020, 10947 of 2020, 10948 of 2020, 10951 of 2020, 10952 of 2020, 10978 of 2020, 10980 of 2020, 10981 of 2020, 11005 of 2020, 11006 of 2020, 11031 of 2020, 11036 of 2020, 11046 of 2020, 11070 of 2020, 11075 of 2020, 11076 of 2020, 11115 of 2020, 11121 of 2020, 11126 of 2020, 11129 of 2020, 11130 of 2020, 11196 of 2020, 11202 of 2020, 112 of 2021, 117 of 2021, 127 of 2021, 136 of 2021, 137 of 2021, 143 of 2021, 150 of 2021, 227 of 2021, 228 of 2021, 243 of 2021, 246 of 2021, 247 of 2021, 687 of 2021, 688 of 2021, 689 of 2021, 693 of 2021, 694 of 2021, 695 of 2021, 696 of 2021, 699 of 2021, 700 of 2021, 701 of 2021, 702 of 2021, 703 of 2021, 704 of 2021, 705 of 2021, 706 of 2021, 707 of 2021, 708 of 2021, 709 of 2021, 745 of 2021, 746 of 2021, 2010 of 2021, 2011 of 2021, 2015 of 2021, 2039 of 2021, 3300 of 2021, 3302 of 2021, 3314 of 2021, 2157 of 2021, 2156 of 2021, 2155 of 2021, 2154 of 2021, 2153 of 2021, 2151 of 2021, 2150 of 2021, 2149 of 2021, 2145 of 2021, 2144 of 2021, 2143 of 2021, 2142 of 2021, 2141 of 2021, 2139 of 2021, 2126 of 2021, 2172 of 2021; C.M. No. 30902 of 2020, 30900 of 2020, 30905 of 2020, 30907 of 2020, 30910 of 2020, 30911 of 2020, 30937 of 2020, 30941 of 2020, 30945 of 2020, 30949 of 2020, 30962 of 2020, 30968 of 2020, 30970 of 2020, 31015 of 2020, 31020 of 2020, 31023 of 2020, 31027 of 2020, 31030 of 2020, 31052 of 2020, 31498 of 2020, 31500 of 2020, 31502 of 2020, 31630 of 2020, 31632 of 2020, 31642 of 2020, 31959 of 2020, 31961 of 2020, 31963 of 2020, 31974 of 2020, 31976 of 2020, 31978 of 2020, 31980 of 2020, 31984 of 2020, 31988 of 2020, 31990 of 2020, 31992 of 2020, 32137 of 2020, 32139 of 2020, 32141 of 2020, 32143 of 2020, 32145 of 2020, 32147 of 2020, 32149 of 2020, 32151 of 2020, 32186 of 2020, 32370 of 2020, 32395 of 2020, 32424 of 2020, 32429 of 2020, 32521 of 2020, 32835 of 2020, 32843 of 2020, 32845 of 2020, 32898 of 2020, 32900 of 2020, 33029 of 2020, 33031 of 2020, 33033 of 2020, 33038 of 2020, 33040 of 2020, 33169 of 2020,33170 of 2020, 33196 of 2020, 33199 of 2020, 33203 of 2020, 33205 of 2020, 33209 of 2020, 33440 of 2020, 33570 of 2020, 33582 of 2020, 33586 of 2020, 33593 of 2020, 33600 of 2020, 33602 of 2020, 33607 of 2020, 33621 of 2020, 33625 of 2020, 33627 of 2020, 33629 of 2020, 33631 of 2020, 33637 of 2020, 33641 of 2020, 33646 of 2020, 33648 of 2020, 33650 of 2020, 33652 of 2020, 33654 of 2020, 33671 of 2020, 33673 of 2020, 33826 of 2020, 33835 of 2020, 33837 of 2020, 33861 of 2020, 33893 of 2020, 34256 of 2020, 34277 of 2020, 34279 of 2020, 34290 of 2020, 34292 of 2020, 34297 of 2020, 34299 of 2020, 34341 of 2020, 34346 of 2020, 34348 of 2020, 34387 of 2020, 34391 of 2020, 34466 of 2020, 34476 of 2020, 34501 of 2020, 34569 of 2020, 34579 of 2020, 34581 of 2020, 34707 of 2020, 34719 of 2020, 34732 of 2020, 34742 of 2020, 34744 of 2020, 34911 of 2020, 34931 of 2020, 334 of 2021, 366 of 2021, 367 of 2021, 393 of 2021, 394 of 2021, 412 of 2021, 413 of 2021, 414 of 2021, 415 of 2021, 429 of 2021, 430 of 2021, 445 of 2021, 446 of 2021, 593 of 2021, 594 of 2021, 597 of 2021, 633 of 2021, 635 of 2021, 637 of 2021, 1683 of 2021,1684 of 2021, 1685 of 2021,1686 of 2021, 1687 of 2021,1688 of 2021, 1702 of 2021,1703 of 2021, 1704 of 2021,1705 of 2021, 1706 of 2021,1707 of 2021, 1719 of 2021,1720 of 2021, 1736 of 2021,1737 of 2021, 1738 of 2021,1739 of 2021, 1740 of 2021,1741 of 2021, 1742 of 2021,1743 of 2021, 1744 of 2021,1745 of 2021, 1746 of 2021, 1747 of 2021, 1748 of 2021,1749 of 2021, 1750 of 2021,1751 of 2021, 1752 of 2021,1753 of 2021, 1754 of 2021,1755 of 2021, 1862 of 2021,1863 of 2021, 1864 of 2021,1865 of 2021, 5882 of 2021 , 5883 of 2021, 5884 of 2021 , 5885 of 2021, 5892 of 2021, 5893 of 2021, 5983 of 2021 , 5984 of 2021, 10080 of 2021,10081 of 2021, 10084 of 2021,10085 of 2021, 10105 of 2021,10106 of 2021; C.M. Appls No. 6128 of 2021, 6129 of 2021, 6216 of 2021, 6217 of 2021, 6231 of 2021, 6232 of 2021, 6247 of 2021, 6248 of 2021, 6249 of 2021, 6250 of 2021, 6251 of 2021, 6252 of 2021, 6253 of 2021, 6254 of 2021, 6255 of 2021, 6256 of 2021, 6263 of 2021, 6264 of 2021, 6265 of 2021, 6266 of 2021, 6267 of 2021, 6268 of 2021, 6265 of 2021 of 2021, 6271 of 2021, 6272 of 2021, 6273 of 2021, 6274 of 2021, 6277 of 2021, 6278 of 2021, 6265 of 2021 of 2021 of 2021, 6271 of 2021 of 2021, 6275 of 2021, 6276 of 2021, 6279 of 2021, 6280 of 2021, 6290 of 2021, 6291 of 2021, 6292 of 2021, 6293 of 2021, 6294 of 2021, 6295 of 2021, 6297 of 2021, 6298 of 2021, 6301 of 2021, 6302 of 2021, 6303 of 2021, 6304 of 2021, 6305 of 2021, 6306 of 2021, 6364 of 2021, 6365 of 2021, 6390 of 2021, 6391 of 2021, 6394 of 2021, 6395 of 2021, 6455 of 2021, 6456 of 2021, 6455 of 2021 of 2021, 6457 of 2021, 6458 of 2021, 6455 of 2021 of 2021 of 2021, 6457 of 2021 of 2021, 6459 of 2021, 6460 of 2021, 6455 of 2021 of 2021 of 2021 of 2021, 6457 of 2021 of 2021 of 2021, 6459 of 2021 of 2021, 6463 of 2021, 6464 of 2021, 6465 of 2021, 6466 of 2021, 6470 of 2021, 6471 of 2021, 6477 of 2021, 6478 of 2021, 6563 of 2021, 6564 of 2021, 6566 of 2021, 6567 of 2021, 6587 of 2021, 6588 of 2021, 6589 of 2021, 6590 of 2021, 6591 of 2021, 6592 of 2021, 6708 of 2021, 6709 of 2021, 6982 of 2021, 6983 of 2021, 6987 of 2021, 6988 of 2021, 7060 of 2021, 7061 of 2021, 7062 of 2021, 7063 of 2021, 7868 of 2021 , 7869 of 2021, 7872 of 2021, 7873 of 2021, 7874 of 2021, 7875 of 2021, 8157 of 2021, 8158 of 2021, 8317 of 2021, 8318 of 2021
Decided On : 15-03-2021
Jayant Mehta, Advocate, Abhijit Sengupta, Advocate, Dibadyuti Banerjee, Advocate, Srideep Chatterjee, Advocate, L.M. Acharya, Advocate, Raj Kumar Yadav, Advocate, Amit Acharya, Advocate, Arti Bansal, Advocate, Harish Kumar Agrawal, Advocate, Mudit Grover, Advocate, Gigi C George, Advocate, Mrinalini Sen, Advocate, Niharika Jauhari, Advocate, Dev P Bhardwaj, Advocate, Sushil Kumar Pandey, Advocate, Rahul Mourya, Advocate, Dakshita, Advocate, Dacchita Shani, Advocate, D.S. Mahendru, Advocate, Rahul Sharma, Advocate, Vijay Joshi, Advocate, Akshat, Advocate, Anil Dabas, Advocate, Satender Mann, Advocate, Ajay Dipaul, Advocate, Kamal R Digpaul, Advocate, Bhagvan Swarup Shukla, Advocate, Jaswinder Singh, Advocate, Tanveer Ahmed Ansari, Advocate, Nirvikar Verma, Advocate, Rajesh Kumar Gogna, Advocate, K.L. Acharya, Advocate, Jivesh Tiwari, Advocate, Arun Bhardwaj, Advocate, Aakanksha Kaul, Advocate, Manek Singh, Advocate, Kirtiman Singh, Advocate, Waize Ali Noor, Advocate, Taha Yasin, Advocate, Vikrant N Goyal, Advocate, Jaswant Rai Aggarwal, Advocate, Suraj Kumar, Advocate, Saroj Bidawat, Advocate, Prema Priyadarshini, Advocate, Sanjeev Sabharwal, Advocate, Naginder Benipal, Advocate, Harithi Kambiri, Advocate, Sonu Chaudhary, Advocate, R.V. Sinha, Advocate, Amit Sinha, Advocate, A.S. Singh, Advocate, Ruchir Mishra, Advocate, Ramneek Mishra, Advocate, Jayant Bhatt, Advocate, Nayantara Sharma, Advocate, Deepali Suri, Advocate, Anil Kaushik, Advocate, Bharathi Raju, Advocate, Pratyush Miglani, Advocate, Shubham Nanda, Advocate, Rajesh Kumar, Advocate, Puneet Yadav, Advocate, Jitesh V Srivastava, Advocate, Rajesh V Srivastava, Advocate, Vinod Diwakar, Advocate, Vishal Singh, Advocate, Riya Dhingra, Advocate, Kavindra Gill, Advocate, Abhay Prakash Sahay, Advocate, Anil Soni, Advocate, Neeraj Verma, Advocate, Apoorv Kurup, Advocate, Vartika Mishra, Advocate
Temporary service under a specific project or scheme comes to an end upon completion/closure/cessation of the project or the scheme, and employees engaged under such project or scheme cannot claim any right to continue in service or seek regularization in some other project or service.
Headnote:
Exemptions - Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) - TEQIP-III - [W.P.(C) 3300/2021, W.P.(C) 3302/2021, W.P.(C) 3314/2021, W.P.(C) 9647/2020] - The court discussed the appointment of project-based temporary faculty under the TEQIP-III project, funded by the World Bank, and concluded that the petitioners' employment would cease with the discontinuation of the project. The court emphasized that the project posts would cease to exist with the disbanding of the project, and the petitioners were not entitled to seek regularization or continuance beyond the project period.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners were appointed as Assistant Professors on a temporary basis for the TEQIP-III project, funded by the World Bank. The project was aimed at improving technical education in the country. The World Bank decided to discontinue funding the project after March 31, 2021, leading to the disbanding of the project unit.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioners' appointment was co-terminus with the project and that they were not entitled to seek regularization or continuance beyond the project period. The court dismissed the petitions, stating that the project posts would cease to exist with the discontinuation of the project.
Issues: The main issue was whether the petitioners were entitled to seek regularization or continuance beyond the project period, considering the discontinuation of funding for the TEQIP-III project.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the Judgment in the case of Mohd. Abdul Qadir and Ors., which established that temporary service under a specific project or scheme would come to an end upon completion/closure/cessation of the project or the scheme. The court concluded that the petitioners were not entitled to seek regularization or continuance beyond the project period.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the petitions, stating that the petitioners' employment would cease with the discontinuation of the project. The court emphasized that the project posts would cease to exist with the disbanding of the project, and the petitioners were not entitled to seek regularization or continuance beyond the project period.
JUDGMENT
V. Kameswar Rao, J. - Exemptions, if any, in these petitions are allowed subject to all just exceptions. Application (s) stand disposed of.
W.P.(C) 3300/2021
W.P.(C) 3302/2021
W.P.(C) 3314/2021
1. These are fresh petitions, filed by the petitioners. Notice, Mr. L.M. Acharya, Special Counsel accepts notice for respondent / UOI. Mr. Anil Soni, Standing Counsel accepts notice for respondent/AICTE and Mr. Neeraj Verma, Adv. accepts notice for respondent / NIT.
2. As the issue in these three writ petitions is similar to the issue which falls for consideration in connected batch of writ petitions, they are also heard and decided together, vide this common judgment.
3. In terms of order dated February 16, 2021, it was directed that W.P.(C) 9647/2021 shall be the lead writ petition. So, the facts / pleadings in the said writ petition are being narrated for deciding these petitions.
W.P.(C) 9647/2020
4. The prayer as made in petition are the following:
"For the facts and circumstances stated in the accompanying writ petition, it is most, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be graciously pleased to: -
a. Direct the respondent to allow the petitioner to continue in service on the post of "Assistant Professor" and also pay him regular salary / remuneration, during the pendency of instant writ petition, in the interest of justice;
b. To issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 to allow the petitioner to continue on the post of "Associate Professor" till regular selection is held and finalized for the said post;
c. To issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the Respondents to allow the petitioner to perform the duties attached to the post of "Assistant Professor" and further pay him regular salary / remuneration, as and when the same becomes dues as per AICTE Rules and Regulations;
d. Pass such other / further order / orders or direction / directions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and appropriate on the facts and circumstances of the case."
5. Suffice to state the aforesaid are the prayers in all the writ petitions.
6. The facts as noted from the record are, that during 1980s, the Government of India and the State Governments had felt the need for revamping the Technician Education System in the country to make it demand-driven with relevant courses in new and emerging technologies, with adequate infrastructure resources, competent faculty and effective teaching-learning processes. The Government of India supported 25 State Governments and Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry through three Technician Education Projects during 1991-2007, financed by the World Bank, which helped to strengthen and upgrade the system and benefitted 552 polytechnics.
7. It is the case of the petitioner and so contended by Mr. Jayant Mehta, that the success of these projects encouraged the Government of India and the State Governments to seek more funding from the World Bank for systemic transformation of the Technical Education system with focus on Degree level Engineering Education. In 2002-03, the Government of India with financial assistance from the World Bank launched a "Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP)" as a long-term programme, to be implemented in three phases for systemic transformation of the Technical Education System.
8. He submits that the first phase of TEQIP commenced in March 2003 and ended in March, 2009, benefitting 127 institutions in 13 States. This project covered less than 10% of the institutions that existed then. The second phase of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP-II) commenced in 2009 and lasted till March 2017. The programme was designed to meet the following objectives:
1. Strengthening Institutions to produce high quality Engineers for better Employability.
2. Scaling-up Postgraduate Education and demand-driven Research & Development and Innovation.
3.
