SANDEEP PANDEY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sandeep Pandey is before this Court assailing the validity of the resolution dated 21.12.2015 of the Board of Governors, IIT, Banars Hindu, University, Varanasi and the consequential order passed by the Director, IIT, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, terminating the contract of petitioner as Visiting Faculty/Visiting Professor at the aforementioned institute w.e.f. expiry of one month from the date of order and alongwith the same other consequential reliefs have also been sought for.

(2.) Brief background of the case is that petitioner claims that he is an alumnus of the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (now Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi). Petitioner did his Master's in Manufacturing & Computer Science from Syracuse University followed by Doctorate in Control Theory at the University of California, Berkely, which he completed in 1992. After completing the education, petitioner moved back to India and started teaching at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1992 and later founded a registered organization namely 'Asha Trust' which currently has several centres/chapters across India and his team has launched a people's group named 'Asha Parivar' in 2008 that focuses on strengthening democracy at the grass -roots in Hardoi, U.P. Petitioner's work at Asha Parivar is focused on Right to Information and other forms of citizen participation in removing corruption and improving the efficiency of governance. Petitioner also leads National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), the largest network of grass -roots people's movements in India and was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award (often termed as 'Asian Nobel Prize') in 2002 for the emergent leadership category. Petitioner led an Indo -Pakistan peace march from New Delhi to Multan in the year 2005 and he has served as an Adviser to the Indian Government's Central Advisory Board for Education (CABE). Petitioner for the first time was associated as 'Visiting Faculty' with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, IIT (BHU) during the academic session 2013 - 14 w.e.f. 1.8.2013 with honorarium of Rs. 65,000/ - per month (consolidated) and free accommodation. Petitioner submits that he has been performing and discharging his duties as Visiting Professor and time to time extension has been accorded and last extension in question is come to an end upto the end of academic session 2015 -16.

(3.) Petitioner submits that his contractual tenure would come to an end on 30.7.2016 and to his utmost surprise he has been served with the impugned order dated 6.1.2016 wherein based on resolution No. 3.59 of the Board of Governors, IIT (BHU) held in the meeting dated 21.12.2015 his services in question as Visiting Faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT (BHU) has been terminated. This action of the University concerned has impelled the petitioner to be before this Court.