(1.) BACKGROUND:
(2.) The first respondent, a Ph.D. holder in Hindi, was initially appointed as a Lecturer in the appellant college, an aided college affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, through Ext. P-l dated 15-9-1993. The appointment is said to be in a short term leave vacancy, during the period from 15-9-1993 to 31-1-1994. Later, he was regularly appointed as Lecturer by Ext. P-2 order dated 9-6-1995. Soon thereafter, while the first respondent was under probation, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, ('the University' for brevity) appointed him as a Lecturer in Hindi through Ext. P-3 order dated 1-9-1995. The appointment of the first respondent in the said University is said to be in response to the application made by him before securing employment in the appellant college.
(3.) As a matter of better career prospects, the first respondent submitted Ext. P-4 application dated 20-9-1995 requesting the appellant Manager to grant leave without allowances for a period of two years with effect from 20-9-1995 so as to enable him to join duty in the University. Before he could get any response from the appellant, the first respondent, however, joined the University. As it turned out, the appellant, through Ext. P-5 dated 25-9-1995, declined to sanction the leave applied for by the first respondent.