RAJENDRAN Vs. UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The three Writ Petitions could be disposed of by a common judgment, as the issue raised is common. W.P.(C) No. 36201 of 2004 is filed by two individuals, who are respectively the Principal of a self-financing College affiliated to the University of Calicut and a Lecturer, also belonging to another affiliated College to the Calicut University. Additional respondents had got themselves impleaded to the proceedings, who had opposed the claim that had been urged by the petitioners.

(2.) W.P.(c) No. 11670 of 2005 is filed a few persons who are working as Lecturers of an unaided affiliated college. They have urged claims almost similar to those that had been raised in W.P.(C) No. 36201 of 2004. W.P.(C) NO. 11697 of 2005 is filed at the instance of two persons, who are working as Lecturers of an aided affiliated College, who are aggrieved about certain interlocutory orders passed in W.P.(C) No. 36201 of 2004 and points out that the objections raised by them nevertheless are independently to be considered. Essentially, they oppose the claims that had been made in the connected Writ Petitions.

(3.) In respect of the cliams of the first petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 36201 of 2004, as Principal, no contentions had been urged, but the arguments were about the justifiability or otherwise of the exclusion of the Lecturers from the electoral college reserved for Lecturers in the Calicut University Senate. Elections are overdue and ad hoc arrangements are continuing. The Senate is to consist of ex-officio members, elected members and nominated members. To the constituencies of members, persons are to be elected from Government and private sectors. The consistency of teachers is to comprise of 16 teachers from private colleges, 5 teachers from Government colleges and three teachers of the University. When electoral rolls were prepared, the petitioners in W.P.(C) No. 36201 of 2004 and W.P.(C) No. 11670/05 had no doubt that their names would be included in the voters list. On the other hand, the petitioners in W.P.(C) No. 11697 of 2005 had no doubt about the position that such of the teachers of the self financing colleges had no right or place to be included in the electoral rolls. The claimants thereupon had occasion to file a representation as Ext.P1, forwarding their request and eligibility for being included in the electoral roll on the strength of the order passed in W.P.(C) No. 35495 of 2003. Although the matter was being processed, no decision had come, but they came to notice that steps were being taken for notifying the election. Ext.P2 is the press release, which disclosed that the election notification was proposed to be issued on 18.12.2004. It was at this stage the Writ Petition had been filed. As an interim order, a learned Single Judge had directed that taking notice of the judgment in W.P.(C) No. 35495 of 2003, before issuing the election notification and finalisation of the voters list, Ext.P1 should be taken up and disposed of. This was followed by another order on 21.12.2004, which according to the contesting respondents, practically had the effect of allowing the Writ Petition exparte, by which the voters list was directed to be modified and Principal and Teachers of self-financing affiliated colleges were declared as eligible to be included in the voters list for election. It appears that a list with such modification also had been prepared.