STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. SANTOSH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this batch of writ petitions a challenge has been raised to the direction issued by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Nagpur (for short, the Tribunal) to regularise the services of 25 Lecturers in various colleges in the faculty of Arts that are administered by the State Government as well as to confer permanency to them. It has been further directed that the said Lecturers would be entitled for regular salary from 1/10/2019 but would not be entitled to claim any monetary benefits for the services rendered by them earlier. The benefit of continuity in service has been granted for all other purposes. Consequentially the process of recruitment initiated by the State Government through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has been quashed to the extent of the posts held by the aforesaid Lecturers.

(2.) The facts relevant for considering the challenge as raised to the order passed by the Tribunal is that on 25/7/2002 the State Government through the Higher and Technical Education Department issued a Government Resolution noting that since the year 1998 there was a ban on recruitment in view of such decision taken by the Finance Department. As a result, it was not possible to fill in various posts in Government Aided Educational Institutions. This had affected the education of the students. In the year 2001-02, permission had been granted to fill in 50% of the vacant posts. However, all the posts could not be filled in as a result of which 6543 posts were vacant in the academic session 2002-03. Since it was found that as a result of the posts remaining vacant the education of the students was being affected, it was resolved to fill in two-third of the said vacant posts by making temporary appointments on contractual basis. It was stated that such appointments would be for a maximum period of two years on contractual basis or till the period regularly selected candidates were available. The appointees were required to have passed the National Eligibility Test (NET) / State Eligibility Test (SET). A Selection Committee was directed to be constituted at each University as well as in Senior Colleges for making such appointments. In addition, social reservation was also required to be followed.

(3.) Pursuant to the aforesaid Government Resolution an advertisement was issued on 15/9/2003 by the Director of Arts inviting applications to fill in the posts of Lecturers on contractual basis. Similar advertisements were also issued on 8/12/2005 and 13/12/2007. The Lecturers herein responded to the said advertisements and they were accordingly issued orders of appointment for a period of eleven months on contractual basis. Each lecturer was required to sign an agreement in which the terms and conditions of the Government Resolution dtd. 25/7/2002 were incorporated.