The Judiciary upheld the statutory retirement age of 62 years for Librarians, affirming their classification as technical staff under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007.

[Judgment of the Court was made by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.]

The present intra-court appeal has been instituted challenging the writ order dated 11.02.2020 passed in W.P.(MD) No.2390 of 2019. 2. The National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, is the appellant before this Court. The first respondent herein instituted the writ proceedings challenging the retirement order dated 02.01.2019, passed by the second appellant – Registrar of the National Institute of Technology.

3. The respondent herein was admittedly holding the post of Librarian in the appellant – National Institute of Technology. On attaining the age of 62 years, she was allowed to retire from service and accordingly, a retirement order dated 02.01.2019, impugned in the writ petition, was issued.

4. The issues raised by the first respondent in the writ petition are as follows:

(i) Whether the post of Librarian is a technical post or teaching post? and (ii) Whether the age of superannuation for the post of Librarian is 62 years or 65 years?

5. In respect of the above two issues, it is sufficient if the Act and the Rules applicable to the appellant - National Institute of Technology is considered.

6. The Writ Court mainly proceeded on the basis that the post of Librarian is a teaching post and therefore, the age of retirement for the said post is 65 years. Thus, the writ petition came to be allowed. Challenging the same, the National Institute of Technology is before this Court.

7. Let us now consider the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007 (hereinafter, referred to as “NIT Act, 2007), which is applicable to the appellant – National Institute of Technology.

8. Section 26 (1) of the NIT Act, 2007, reads as under:

“(1) The first Statutes of each Institute shall be framed by the Central Government with the prior approval of the Visitor and a copy of the same shall be laid as soon as may be before each House of Parliament. ”

9. In exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 26 of the NIT Act, 2007, the Central Government, with the prior approval of the Visitor, framed the first statute for all the National Institutes of Technology i.e., the NIT Act, 2007. The said Act and the Rules framed thereunder remain unchallenged. Thus, the Act and the Rules would be applicable to the employees, who were inducted as the employees of the National Institute of Technology.

10. Section 5 (d) of the NIT Act, 2007, enumerates as follows:

“(d) every person employed by a society, immediately before such commencement shall hold his office or service in the corresponding Institute for the same tenure, at the same remuneration and upon the same terms and conditions and with the same rights and privileges as to pension, leave, gratuity, provident fund and other matters as he would have held if this Act had not been passed, and shall continue to do so unless and until his employment is terminated or until such tenure, remuneration and terms and conditions are duly altered by the Statutes:

Provided that if the alteration so made is not acceptable to such employee, his employment may be terminated by the Institute in accordance with the terms of contract with the employee or, if no provision is made therein in this behalf, on payment to him by the Institute, of compensation equivalent to three months remuneration in the case of permanent employee and one months' remuneration in the case of other employee.”

11. In view of Section 5 (d) and its proviso clause, the new statute framed in exercise of the power conferred under Section 26 of the NIT, 2007, is binding on all the employees inducted in the National Institute of Technology.

12.