APOORVI SOOD Vs. NETAJI SUBHAS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These writ petitions have been filed by the Petitioners for a direction to the Respondents to treat/declare their services as Assistant Professor (IT) in the Division of IT, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology ('NSIT') as permanent/regular with consequential benefits from the date of their respective appointments. Since common question of law arises in these writ petitions, they were heard together and are being decided by this common judgment.

(2.) Factual matrix to the extent necessary and emerging from the writ petitions is that NSIT published an advertisement in the Employment News dtd. 20/26/10.2012 for Faculty positions inviting applications for appointment to the post of Assistant Professors in various departments of NSIT, which is an Autonomous Body under the Government of NCT of Delhi and is affiliated to the University of Delhi. Last date of the applications was 12/11/2012 and Petitioners applied and were shortlisted for the interview scheduled on 13/6/2014. On the basis of their credentials and performance in the interview, Petitioners were recommended for appointments and received offer letters dtd. 28/7/2014 to the post of Assistant Professor albeit on contract basis in PB-III of Grade Pay of Rs.6,000.00 with DA, HRA and TA as per the applicable rules.

(3.) It is averred that at that stage, Petitioners were in need of the job to support their respective families and accepted the appointments on contract basis though the advertisement did not mention that the applications were invited for contractual appointments. Petitioners were assured that their appointments will be on contract for initial period and will be considered as regular in due course. Over a period of time, realising that Petitioners were being treated on contract basis, they started representing for regularization of their appointments, however, finding no positive response, Petitioners preferred writ petitions being W.P. (C) No.4996/2018, titled Apoorvi Sood v. Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology and Ors. and W.P. (C) No.4957/2018, titled Dr. Priti Bansal v. Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology and Ors., before this Court on 8/5/2018, which were disposed of on 9/5/2018 with liberty to the Petitioners to make a representation and direction to the Respondents to pass a speaking order. Despite representations made by the Petitioners, NSIT vide order dtd. 8/8/2018 rejected the request of the Petitioners to treat them as regular/permanent leading to filing of the present writ petitions.