SAKHAULLAH DARAB KHAN Vs. VISVESVERAYA REGIONAL COLLEGE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE only material question that is now posed for our decision in this petition, is whether the petitioner who was admittedly appointed as Bio-chemist with the respondent no.1 Institution-viz. Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering Nagpur, has in fact worked as a lecturer or a member of the teaching staff and for that reason on the basis of equivalence in the nature of duties or on the principle of equal pay for equal work; he is required to be paid the scale which the respondent no.1 has been paying to the lecturers from the date from which he was, in fact, required to discharge the duties of the aforesaid nature.

(2.) THE petitioner holding a Master Degree in Bio-Chemistry and a doctorate also in the said branch, was appointed as Bio-chemist by respondent no.1 with effect from 1984. As per the Rules applicable,the retirement age of the teaching staff was 60 years whereas for other staff members including the demonstrator, Bio-chemist etc. the age of retirement on superannuation was 58 years. By office order dtd. 4-1-1994, petitioner's retirement age on superannuation was shown as 58 years which he was to attain on 31-10-95.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioner since he was holding a doctorate in Bio-chemistry and had good reputation in the technical field, especially in his subject of Bio-chemistry and had published number of papers, he was considered having sufficient qualification to teach the said subject of Bio-chemistry as well as Environmental Engineering by the authorities and was asked to discharge the duties of a lecturer. In any case, positively after the retirement of Professor Shri W.M. Deshpande. Admittedly the petitioner was appointed as Bio-chemist and we are told that this is a unique post which is only in the respondent no.1 College viz. Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur. the posts of Bio-chemist are there in certain Medical Colleges but so far as Engineering Colleges are concerned, this is a unique college in having such a post.