AJIT PAUL Vs. STATE OF MEGHALAYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has come forward with the present writ petition, challenging the email dtd. 16/12/2019, by which it was communicated to the petitioner that the Governing Body, vide its Resolution dtd. 12/10/2019 decided to discontinue the services of the petitioner, without due process of law. The petitioner also sought a direction to reinstate him in the post of Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science with all consequential benefits w.e.f. 1/1/2020.

(2.) The case of the petitioner was that he was serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science in the Women's College, Shillong. The 3rd respondent college (in short "the College'), which is an aided institution of the Government since 1991, situated at Upper New Colony, Laitumkhrah, Shillong, East Khasi Hills District, has three sets of teachers, namely, (i) Government sanctioned teachers under the ad hoc grant-in-aid scheme, (ii) College sanctioned post teachers whose salary are duly sanctioned by the College itself and (iii) Guest faculty teachers/temporary teachers, whose salary are also borne by the College itself. According to the petitioner, he falls under the second category, viz., college sanctioned post teachers, whose salaries are duly sanctioned by the College.

(3.) It was the case of the petitioner that in 2011, the petitioner was said to have been inducted in the College as a Lecturer to impart computer education for the higher secondary students and based on the performance of the petitioner, he was brought under a regular pay scale of Rs.13600.0025000/- w.e.f. 1/6/2013. According to the petitioner, his services have been regularized under the second category as stated above with regular pay scale and that there was no appointment order issued. The petitioner had been repeatedly requesting the College to issue him the appointment order in writing so as to avoid future complications. It was his case that, after being inducted in the College as a Lecturer, the post was re-designated as Assistant Professor and he has represented the College on many occasions as a resourceful person for conducting coaching classes. It was his further case that thereafter, his pay scale was revised to Rs.30000.00 to 66500/- and he was employed against a sanctioned post, but all of a sudden, the Governing Body on 12/10/2019 has taken a decision to discontinue his services. The email communications dtd. 14/12/2019 and 16/12/2019 would reveal that the services of the petitioner have been disengaged without following any due process of law and the contents of the said email communications are extracted herein below: "Sat, Dec 14, 2019 at 2:26 PM Dear Sir, With reference to my e-mail to you dtd. 29/10/19 and 10/12/19 respectively, I would like to request you yet once again to clarify my current position in the college. Today, being the last working day of the college for the current year, I would like you to kindly clarify the same so that it becomes easy for me to understand my future in this institution. In anticipation of your response, Yours sincerely, Mr. Ajit Paul Assistant Professor Department of Computer Applications Women's College, Shillong. Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 8:39 PM Dear Mr. Ajit, I was of the opinion that you had been informed by the Teachers representatives of the Governing Body's decision to do away with the department in the college as it never started as a separate department in the degree Sec. . As of today the department is not there in the college. With Warms Regards Dr. Ratnadeep Roy, Principal, Women's College Shillong."