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2021 Supreme(Online)(KER) 11824
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
DR. NIFFY BENNY, – Appellant
Versus
THE STATE OF KERALA – Respondent
WP(C)/16840/2020
BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER BY SRI.ASOK M. CHERIAN, SC, M.G. UNIVERSITY BY ADV. SRI.SHERRY J. THOMAS GP SRI B HARISH KUMAR
The court established that appointments and salary disbursement for academic staff must align with UGC guidelines and sanctioned posts as determined by educational authorities.
Headnote:
Appointment - University Regulations - UGC Guidelines - Salary Disbursement - Employment Rights - Educational Standards - Legal Interpretation
Fact of the Case:
The case involved a dispute over the approval of appointments and disbursement of salaries for assistant professors at a college, with questions over compliance with university regulations and UGC standards.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioners did not have a fresh cause of action against the challenged orders, emphasizing the necessity of adherence to sanctioned posts as per UGC regulations for salary disbursement.
Issues: Whether the petitioners' appointments were valid and deserved retroactive approval and salary disbursement following university and government regulations.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the university's decisions and salary provisions must conform to UGC guidelines on sanctioned posts and workload, and any payments are contingent on their compliance.
Final Decision: The writ petition was dismissed due to lack of merit.
JUDGMENT
Dated this the 16th day of March 2021 This case has been heard at length for some time even on the last date of hearing and today also. There have been a series of litigations regarding the date of the appointment and assessment of the work load. In the first round of litigation ie., W.P.(C).No.60 of 2016 and W.P.(C).No.29115/2016, this Court on 10.11.2016 passed the following order:
“Taking note of the fact that, the appointment of the petitioner in W.P.(C).No.60 of 2016 has already been approved by the respondent University, but the State Government has raised some queries in respect the said approval, and therefore, the petitioner in the said writ petition has not been disbursed salary, and further, that during the pendency of these writ petitions further vacancies have arisen in the Chemistry Department in St. Albert's College, Ernakulam, which are sufficient to accommodate the petitioners in both the writ petitions, there will be an interim direction to the respondent University to pass orders regarding approval to the appointment of the petitioners in W.P.(C)No.29115 of 2016, as also the confirmation of the approval already granted in respect of the petitioner in W.P.(C). No.60 of 2016, within a period of three weeks from today. While passing orders as directed, the respondent University shall keep in mind the seniority, of the petitioners in both these writ petitions, in the rank list that was prepared for the purposes of selection to the post of Assistant Professor in Chemistry.”
2. On perusal of the aforementioned observation, it was the University which was directed to pass an order. Mahatma Gandhi University in compliance of the aforementioned directions passed an order dated 09.02.2017 revoking the order of appointment of Dr.Niffy Benny-petitioner No.1, to the 15th post with effect from 12.08.2018 and direction was given to the manager of the college to reappoint her on 14th post in the next arising retirement vacancy with a further direction to make all future appointments within the limits of fourteen (14) permitted posts by seeking prior permission from the Government for any appointment made after the expiry of the Rank List. On 25.05.2017 vide Ext.P10 Mahatma Gandhi University on the basis of the information received by the St.Albert's College regarding the estimated workload in the department of Chemistry observed that the Government had sanctioned only 14 posts in the following academic years ie., 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015- 2016. It was observed that the posts were created without demarcation of the Assistant Professor and Associate Professor and manager was directed to approach the Government for creation of the 15th post as the Government had approved only 14 posts without differentiating and demarcating the post of Associate Professors and Assistant Professors. In the meantime, I.A.No.5328/2017 was filed in W.P.(C).No. 29115/2016 and on 27.03.2017 this Court passed the following order:
“The learned counsel on either side submit that the assessment of workload as stated in Ext.R3(a) in respect of the Department of Chemistry in St.Alberts College, Ernakulam is made by the University without considering the fact that there are 10 posts of Associate Professors available. As per the UGC Regulations, the workload in respect of Associate Professors is 14 hours; whereas it is 16 hours for Assistant Professors. The learned counsel for the petitioners submit that the number of Associate Professors in the college as on the date of joining of the petitioners was 10 and therefore, there will be posts admissible for appointment as Assistant Professors.
In the above circumstances, there shall be a direction to the University to reassess the workload after collecting all the details of various categories of teaching posts in the Chemistry Department at the relevant time of the appointment of the petitioners. For facilitating reassessment, the college shall furnish the details of the number of posts of
