COMMON ORDER:

All the three writ petitions are filed by the same petitioner and since the common facts and circumstances are involved, all the three writ petitions were taken up together and heard together and a common and consolidated order is being passed hereunder.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present writ petitions are that the petitioner is working as an Assistant Professor of English with the respondent No.3 College. While he was working as such, he was appointed as IQAC Member vide proceedings dated 24.07.2018. It is submitted that the predecessor to the petitioner as the Member of the IQAC did not choose to submit year wise reports before the petitioner took over the role as Member of IQAC and after taking charge, the petitioner completed the earlier backlog and submitted the reports on 15.03.2020 for the years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) vide proceedings dated 07.10.2020, required all the concerned to file AQAR reports on or before 31.05.2021 and in accordance therewith, the petitioner not only completed the backlogs and submitted all the reports from 2015 to 2019 by 15.03.2020 and also submitted the reports for the year 2019- 2020 on 24.04.2021 i.e., much prior to the date prescribed by NAAC i.e., 31.05.2021. It is submitted that this fact has been acknowledged by the Principal of respondent No.3 college vide letter dated 07.05.2021.

3. While the matter stood thus, the petitioner was served with a charge memo dated 06.05.2021 raising three allegations, which according to the petitioner are baseless. Challenging the same, the Writ Petition No.13332 of 2021 has been filed. Subsequently, enquiry was conducted and the respondents have passed final order dated 31.01.2022 imposing the punishment of stoppage of three increments with cumulative effect under Rule 9 of TSCS (CCA) Rules. Accordingly, the prayer in the writ petition has been amended challenging also the final order dated 31.01.2022 as illegal, arbitrary and bad in law.

4. The respondent No.2, filed a counter affidavit on behalf of the respondents No.1, 2 & 4 enclosing the said punishment order and supporting the same.

5. Further facts are that due to Covid-19 Pandemic, there was a National lockdown from the March, 2020. It is submitted that in the year 2016, the marking of attendance by Biometric method was introduced in the respondent No.3 college and due to the Covid pandemic and the rapid spread of the disease, the respondent No.6 had widely prohibited the usage of any common system such as biometric method, as the possibility of spread of Covid Virus from one person to another among staff was 100%. The respondent No.4, vide its proceedings dated 14.03.2020, while referring to the respondent No.5 letter dated 05.03.2020, had prohibited the usage of biometric method. The respondent No.6, vide its proceedings dated 06.03.2020, has specifically prohibited the biometric method of attendance, which was emphasized by its proceedings dated 13.02.2021 and no further orders modifying the same were passed till the date of filing of the writ petition.

6. It is submitted that in spite of all these directions, in total violation of procedure prescribed by the respondents No.5 and 6, by proceedings dated 16.01.2021, the respondent No.2 directed that the biometric attendance method should be strictly followed and that the unmarked days for all teachers, shall be treated as non-duty and converted to eligible leave. Further, on 19.03.2021, the respondent No.2 had issued proceedings stating that “majority of staff members are signing their attendance in the register manually and the staff furnished many reasons for not marking biometric attendance, which is highly irregular. Therefore, the principal, Government Degree College, Eturunagaram, is hereby instructed that the days when biometric is not marked by the teaching and non-teaching staff and other staff should be treated as non-duty and permitte