MANONMANIAM SUNDARANAR UNIVERSITY FACULTY ASSOCIATION AND ORS. Vs. MANONMANIAM SUNDARANAR UNIVERSITY AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) W.P.(MD). No. 11815 of 2010 filed by Manonmaniam Sundaranaar Faculty Association represented by its President and WP.(MD). No. 1731 of 2011 filed by the President of the Association as above referred to by name Dr. M. Arunachalam in his individual capacity are against the absorption of the second respondent Dr. X. Rosary Mary on permanent basis as Director, Department of Youth Welfare in the first respondent University. WP.(MD). No. 9193 of 2012 is filed by Dr. X. Rosary Mary, Director, Department of Youth Welfare Manonmanian Sundaranar University against the order of the respondent university in treating her as non teaching staff and in retiring her at the age of 58 years and for issuing consequential direction to the first respondent/University to allow the petitioner to continue in service upto 60 years which is the age of superannuation for the teaching staff. For the sake of convenience, the petitioners and the respondents in the above three writ petitions are referred to as Association, Professor and Director of the Department and respondent/University.

(2.) The facts which led to the filing of above three writ petitions for the reliefs as stated supra, are as follows :

(3.) While so, the Director by her representation dated 03.08.2010 requested to treat the petitioner as professor and to fix her scale of pay on par with the University professor. The respondent/University syndicate after considering the same, passed a resolution to place the Director in the pay scale admissible for the post of professor. The resolution dated 05.02.2008 thereby converting the tenure post of Director as a regular post and absorbing the Director on permanent basis and the resolution dated 17.08.2010 thereby fixing the pay scale of the Director on par with that of the professor were challenged in W.P. No. (MD). 11815 of 2010 by the Association. The same was followed by another writ petition in WP. No. (MD). 1731 of 2011 by Dr. M. Arunachalam in his individual capacity for issuing quo warranto requiring the Director to show cause under what authority she was holding the office of Director. Pending writ petition the Director with the permission of the University participated in International Exchange Workshop at Lindau, Germany and after obtaining Earned Leave for 13 days from 18.04.2012 to 30.04.2012 she also visited some other universities in her personal capacity. Thereafter, summer vacation intervened between 01.05.2012 to 31.05.2012. After summer vacation was over while the Director was getting ready to report for duty on 01.06.2012. She was served with the impugned order dated 31.05.2012 stating that she had been relieved from service as Director w.e.f. 31.05.2012 on superannuation on attaining the age of 58 years. Questioning the same, the Director has come forward with WP. No. (MD). 9193 of 2012 for the relief as stated supra. Thus the issue involved in the first two writ petitions is regarding the conversion of the post of Director into regular post and absorption of the incumbent on permanent basis through two resolutions of the Syndicate and the issue involved in the third writ petition is as to whether the post of Director of Youth Welfare is academic or non-academic.