Study leave with salary not a vested right; requires prior permission and subject to institutional exigencies like faculty shortage.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The WP(C) No. 1530/2020 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No. 221/2024 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court seeking following relief: -

In view of the facts and circumstances of the case and submissions made herein and those to be made at the time of hearing, it is respectfully prayed that the Hon'ble Court be pleased to allow the writ under article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of an appropriate writ/direction and/or Order, including writ of mandamus thereby to hold as unfair, arbitrary and illegal, and consequently to quash, the communication no. SMVDU/Adm/Estt/20/1096-97 dated 26/08/2020 and the decision purported therein of the respondent no. 2 purportedly issued on behalf of the respondent no. 1; and commanding the respondents 1 & 2 to consider and accord the study leave with full salary in favour of the petitioner for undergoing the Ph.D Electrical Engineering course w.e.f August 2020 in the Indian Institute of Technology, IT, Jammu in furtherance of Circular No. SMVDU/Adm./Estt./19/8446-50 dated 26/11/2019 read with the Leave Rules of the respondent no. 1. Any other relief in addition or alternate to which the petitioner be found entitled to be also granted.

3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -

a) The present Transfer Application arises out of WP(C) No. 1530/2020, which stood transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and was registered as T.A. No. 221/2024. The applicant, Swastik Gupta, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Electronics and Communication Engineering of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, having been appointed on a regular basis with effect from 02.01.2012.

b) The applicant possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Government College of Engineering & Technology, Jammu, obtained in the year 2007. On the strength of his All India Rank in GATE-2007, he pursued and completed his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur. Prior to joining the respondent-University, he also gained professional experience as an R&D Engineer in the private sector. After his appointment in SMVDU, the applicant continued to discharge his duties as an Assistant Professor and did not acquire a Ph.D. qualification during the initial years of service.

c) It is the case of the applicant that the respondent-University is governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Act, 1999 and is funded and regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The service conditions of faculty members, including provisions relating to leave, are governed by the Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations of the University, particularly the Leave Rules notified in 2018. Chapter 39 of the said Regulations provides for Study Leave, including grant of study leave with salary to entry-level Assistant Professors after completion of the prescribed period of service, subject to fulfillment of conditions laid down therein.

d) The applicant places heavy reliance upon Circular No. SMVDU/Adm./Estt./19/8446-50 dated 26.11.2019, whereby non-Ph.D. faculty members were advised to enroll for Ph.D. programmes by August 2020, failing which serious consequences were indicated. It is the applicant’s assertion that since the respondent-University does not offer Ph.D. facilities in Electrical Engineering, he applied for admission