IQBAL COLLEGE TRUST Vs. UNIVERSITY OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are stated to be the Secretary and the Manager of Iqbal College Trust and Iqbal College respectively, the latter of which is affiliated to the Kerala University. In the writ petition, the petitioners seek a direction to the 1st respondent University to extend the period of approval granted as per Ext.P4, to Dr.U.Abdul Kalam, Associate Professor in the Department of Commerce, to function as Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer of the Iqbal College for a further period from 09.06.2016 till the appointment of the regular Principal in the College. The facts in the writ petition would indicate that Dr.U.Abdul Kalam was appointed as Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer, by Ext.P4 order dated 31.03.2016 and the said appointment was approved for a period of three months by the respondent University. It would appear, from a perusal of the affidavit filed in support of an application for impleadment by Prof. Mohammed Sali, who is stated to be the present Secretary and Manager of the Iqbal College Trust and its institution that, there is a dispute pending between the petitioner and the additional 2nd respondent, who was impleaded subsequently, with regard to the management of the Trust and the College. It is stated by the additional 2nd respondent that in a Scheme Suit before the Hon'ble 1st Additional District Court, Thiruvananthapuram (OS No.5 of 1990) two petitions were filed by the additional 2nd respondent to expel the writ petitioner from the post of Secretary, as also to injunct him from functioning as Secretary. As per Ext.P8 order dated 29.02.2016 of the District Court, two petitions filed by the 2nd additional respondent were partly allowed, in that the writ petitioner was prevented from functioning as a Secretary of the trust, but was permitted to function as the Manager of the College for the limited purposes of making such selection and appointments of teaching staff, as was the subject matter of writ petitions that are pending before this Court. It is also seen that, although the writ petitioner filed separate FAOs before this Court against Ext.P8 order of the District Court, this Court by judgment dated 04.04.2016 dismissed the said FAOs. Thereafter, the writ petitioners preferred SLPs before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and in the said SLPs, by Ext.P6 order produced in the writ petition, the Hon'ble Supreme Court directed the parties to maintain status -quo as on 06.05.2016 until further orders. It is while so that the writ petitioners preferred the application before the 1st respondent University seeking extension of approval granted to Dr.Kalam to function as Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer.

(2.) The learned counsel for the 2nd additional respondent would submit that the additional 2nd respondent took charge as Secretary with effect from 06.04.2016 and necessary intimation in that regard was given to the educational authorities as early as on 10.04.2016. It is stated that, thereafter, acting on the complaint preferred by the senior most professor in the College, with regard to the appointment of the Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer, the matter was placed before the Executive Committee of the Trust and the Executive Committee decided to cancel the earlier appointment of Dr.Kalam as the Principal -in - charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer, and appoint the senior most professor of the college as the Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer in accordance with Statute 74 of the Kerala University First Statutes 1979. It is also stated that orders appointing Dr.U.Nazaruddin, who was the senior most professor of the College, as the Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer with effect from 18.04.2016 were passed, as evidenced by Exts.R2(b) and R2(c) produced by the additional 2nd respondent.

(3.) In a statement filed by the 1st respondent University, it is stated that the respondent University was going to approve the appointment of Dr.U.Nazaruddin as the Principal -in -charge and Drawing and Disbursing Officer in the College pursuant to the judgment dated 04.04.2016 of this Court in FAO Nos.94 and 95 of 2016, but they were then informed of Ext.P6 order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which directed the maintenance of status -quo as on 06.05.2016 and it was in those circumstances that no further steps were taken by the respondent University.