JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Ashok Khare, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri O.P. Tripathi and Sri Adarsh Singh, learned counsel for petitioners, P.K. Ganguly, learned counsel for the University and Sri P.K. Srivastava, learned Standing Counsel for the State and perused the records.

2. This bunch of writ petitions contains as many as nine writ petitions, however, looking to the facts involved in the cases, the Court is of the view that these petitions are segregated in two different bunches.

3. Accordingly, the connected matters in Writ A No.10622 of 2022 being Writ A No.21548 of 2022, 21585 of 2022, 21223 of 2022 and 2932 of 2023 are now segregated and are directed to be listed with Writ A No.19750 of 2022 as separated bunch of cases, on 11.09.2023.

4. Now, the Court proceeds to decide writ petitions being Writ A Nos.10622 of 2022, 11289 of 2022, 13767 of 2022 and 21022 of 2022 as they involve more or less similar facts.

5. The petition being Writ A no.10622 of 2022 is taken to be leading petition.

6. All these petitioners claim to be enjoying faculty position in Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, namely, respondent no.2 and hence, are aggrieved by the orders impugned in respect of the petitions by which petitioners have been made to superannuate upon their attaining 60 years of age.

7. The ground for assailing the order chiefly is that the petitioner fall within the definition of 'TEACHER' as prescribed for in the First Statute of the University prior to it being amended by Amending Act of 2022. The petitioners who were initially appointed on the post of Research Assistant with the University, claimed to have stood discriminated against earlier in the matter of payscale as the similarly placed teachers of Narendra Dev Krishi Evam Prodyogic Mahavidyalaya, Faizabad were awarded pay-scale of 2200-4000 under a Government Order dated 22.7.1999.

8. As a matter of fact, a recommendation was made by administrative officer of Narendra Dev Krishi Evam Prodyogic Mahavidyalaya, Faizabad for awarding UGC pay scale of Rs.2200-4000 to the Senior Research Associates of the University. These research associates had even approached the Lucknow Bench of this Court vide Writ No.10821(S/B-1) of 1995 in which directions were issued to the State Government to consider their claim for award of demanded payscale.

9. The State Government in its turn referred to an earlier Government Order dated 29.11.1991 which provided that those senior Research Associates who fulfilled norms of a teacher they may be declared as teachers under relevant regulations of Chaper XII and it was on account of that consequentially a resolution was adopted by the Executive Council of the University in its 35th meeting dated 13.3.1992, with which all these Research Associates were declared as teacher and thus were referred to the State Government for being awarded UGC pay scale of 2200-4000. It was in the light of the aforesaid resolution of the Executive Council that the State Government awarded UGC pay scale to Research Associates of Narendra Dev Krishi Evam Prodyogic Mahavidyalaya, Faizabad vide Government Order dated 22.7.1999 and they were also directed to be absorbed against the post commensurate to the said pay scale.

10. The petitioners who were working with an identically placed State University, namely, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur filed a writ petition before Lucknow Bench of this Court being Writ Petition No.836(S/B) of 1994 and the said writ petition came to be disposed of under its order dated 18.8.1999 in following terms :

“Since the Government has already taken a decision in respect of the Senior Research Associates of the Narendra Dev Krishi Evam Prodyogic Vishvidyalay, Faizabad vide its order dated 22.7.1999 there is no reason why the same benefit should not be extended to the Research Assistants of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur who are the members of th