COMMON ORDER

The common facts and circumstances that gave rise to the filing of the writ petitions are briefly stated hereunder:

(a) The petitioner in W.P.No.17918 of 2021 was appointed in the erstwhile Pondicherry Engineering College, as Lecturer of Civil Engineering on 10.10.1987 and subsequently, promoted as Assistant Professor and Professor on 28.06.1999 and 13.08.2004 respectively. Later, he was given additional charge as Principal, Pondicherry Engineering College on 08.07.2019.

(b) The petitioner in W.P.No.17929 of 2021 was appointed as Assistant Professor on 19.08.1999 of Mechanical Engineering, subsequently promoted as Associate Professor and Professor with effect from 01.01.2006 and 01.07.2013 respectively. The erstwhile Pondicherry Engineering college was promoted and fully funded by the Government of Pondicherry. It was started in the year 1984 as an autonomous Institution, affiliated to the Pondicherry University. In 2019, Government of Puducherry framed Puducherry Technological University Act, 2019 (Act 4 of 2020 dated 31.03.2020) thereby reconstituting the Pondicherry Engineering College as a Technological University and incorporated it as an affiliated and research University of Puducherry. The Act came into force on

05.09.2020.

(c) The erstwhile Pondicherry Engineering College before it became a Technological University by virute of Act 4/2020 was a technical institution governed by the All India Council for Technical Education, (hereinafter referred to as 'the AICTE'), the fifth respondent herein. The service conditions of the teaching staff are regulated by the instructions issued by AICTE from time to time. The latest set of regulations issued by AICTE is as follows:

“AICTE REGULATIONS ON PAY SCALES, SERVICE CONDITIONS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS AND OTHER ACADEMIC STAFF SUCH AS LIBRARY, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING & PLACEMENT PERSONNEL IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS AND MEASURES FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF STANDARDS IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION – (DEGREE) REGULATION, 2019.”

(d) The notification was issued on the first of March 2019, and made applicable to all technical institutions in the country, effective from the date of notification. The notification thus stood applied to the Pondicherry Engineering College before its conversion as Technological University with effect from

05.09.2020.

(e) The grievance of the petitioners herein is that as per the latest regulation of AICTE dated 01.03.2019, the age of superannuation of all faculty members and Principals/Directors of institutions shall be 65 years. Further extension of five years is also provided beyond 65 years up to 70 years of age on fulfillment of certain conditions. However, notwithstanding the stipulation of 65 years as the age of superannuation, the petitioners herein were forcibly retired on the date they completed 62 years of age, ostensibly on the basis of the University stipulations in this regard. Aggrieved by their premature retirement, the petitioners are before this Court praying for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the third respondent University to continue their service till they attain the age of superannuation, in terms of the AICTE regulations.

2. Mr.Karthik Rajan, learned counsel for the petitioners, would make the following submissions:

(a) After reiterating the facts as to the status of the erstwhile Pondicherry Engineering College and its transformation into technological University, the learned counsel at the outset would submit that in terms of Section 5(4) of the Act of 4/2020, dated 31.03.2020, the service conditions of the teaching staff came to be protected as it stood applicable before the conversion of the college into a Technological University with effect from 05.09.2020. The effect of the saving clause is that whatever that was applicable before the coming into force of the Technological University Act, 2019, as on 05.09.2020, the same would be continued, and the teaching staff would be governed by