VARSHA SHARMA Vs. MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is working as Technical Officer in the University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC), seeks, by means of this writ petition, the benefit of Academic Grade Pay (AGP) and the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), as is granted to teaching staff in universities, under the University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2010 (hereinafter referred to as "the 2010 UGC Regulations").

(2.) USICs were the brainchild of the UGC, and were governed by a programme formulated by the UGC in that regard. The need for USICs was felt in view of the requirement of highly reliable sophisticated instruments, for teaching and advanced research, in departments and colleges of various universities. This, it was felt, would entail, in turn, the need for regular and proper maintenance of such instruments, so that optimum utility could be made thereof. In this regard, the reality that advanced instruments, in colleges and universities, often remain underutilised and, at times, even unutilised, for want of maintenance facilities and trained technicians to look after them, was also kept in mind. Side by side, the fact that modern instruments were more sophisticated and expensive, and liberal purchase thereof was not, therefore, economically viable, was also treated as a valid consideration, to justify the creation for USICs. Under the programme, (which would be referred to hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, as "the USIC programme"), the UGC assists universities to create essential support facilities, where all major instruments in the university could be centralised for their maximum utilisation, with workshops supported by well-qualified personnel for fabrication, repairs and maintenance of all types of instruments.

(3.) The above recital is to be found in the preambular comments to the Guidelines governing the USICs, as issued by the UGC in 1993 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1993 Guidelines") which have been placed on record by the petitioner. These Guidelines also set out the overall objectives of the USIC programme. The very first objective of the said programme is "to encourage Universities to establish and develop USICs with a view to strengthen their technological infrastructure if required through collaborative efforts of the academic community of the University."