G SURYANARAYANA MURTHY Vs. GOVERNMENT OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sanskrit is a language "more perfect than Greek, more copious than Latin and more exquisitely refined than either" said Sir William Jones as early as in the year 1786. Sanskrit, one of the most ancient and greatest languages of human civilization, has greatly influenced most other Indian languages. Sanskrit, once venerated as the repository of spiritual knowledge, was a medium which Indian civilization, ever since the Vedic period, found its expression in. The Vedas, the Epics, the Dharma Sastras and the Mitaksara, are but some of the Sanskrit works unmatched both in its form and content. There is a very large Sanskrit element in Telugu and other South Indian languages.

(2.) Even on the dawn of Indian independence, our founding fathers bore in mind the importance of Sanskrit in giving the new born nation its distinct identity. The word 'Bharat' in Article-1 of our Constitution is from Sanskrit. 'Satyameva Jayate' our national motto is a Sanskrit quote and 'Jana Gana Mana', our National Anthem, is largely Sanskrit. The pride of place given to Sanskrit can be gathered from what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said. To quote :- submit that he has three research papers to his credit, he has attended five conferences, out of which one was a World Conference, that in the month of January, 1999 the 3rd respondent had recommended regularization of his services to respondents 1 and 2 and that, while orders of regularization were issued in May, 1999, posting him to M.R. College, Vizianagaram, along with eight other Lecturers whose services were also regularized, the said absorption proceedings were withdrawn on the ground that the third respondent college had not obtatined prior approval for his initial appointment. According to the petitioner while the respondents had regularized the services of eight lecturers, who were all junior to him, his case alone had been rejected on flimsy grounds. Petitioner would reiterate that he has been treated as a regular Lecturer ever since 1987, that he was treated as the head of the department of Sanskrit, that he had been chosen for setting the Sanskrit question paper for C.R. Reddy College, Eluru and M.R. College, Vizianagaram, that he was selected as a member of the Board of Studies for M.R. College, Vizianagaram, that the Board of Intermediate Education has been selecting him periodically for spot valuation and many a time for revaluation of papers for degree colleges affiliated to the Andhra University, that he was being selected as an internal examiner in the 3rd p.m. and the afternoon shift from 12.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. According to the petitioner, the student strength in Intermediate, (both 1st and 2nd year), was more than 100 in each year and, coupled with the 100 students in undergraduate courses, the total number of students in the third respondent college, who were taught Sanskrit, was around 300. Though more than one Lecturer was required, no second Lecturer was appointed ever since Sanskrit was introduced as a subject and he had to bear the entire work load. According to the petitioner he was made to work the whole day, was assigned classes in both the shifts from 7.30 a.m. till 5.30 p.m., and was taking classes for 36 hours each week during the years between 1987 and 1992. The working hours of the college was rescheduled in the year 1992 from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and, thereafter, the petitioner was assigned 28 hours of class work each week. Petitioner would contend that he was discharging a heavier workload than that of a full-time/regular lecturer and that the work allotted to him, in terms of working hours each week, was much more than what was assigned to lecturers in other disciplines. Though there were six aided vacancies available in the college the respondents did not take steps to regularize his services and, while he was initially paid Rs.1,440/- per month, it was subsequently enhanced to Rs.2,950/-. Petitioner would undergone an operation, that he has been advised to take radiation treatment (32 radiations) and Chemotherapy (five in all), that each injection costs about Rs.14,000/-, and that he was advised to take booster radiations, which are even costlier.

(3.) In the counter affidavit filed, on behalf of respondents 1 and 2, it is stated that the 3rd respondent college has been admitted to grant-in-aid, that the combination of Sanskrit as a 2nd language was allowed as some of the students had opted for the said subject, that the management had appointed the petitioner as a part-time lecturer without informing or obtaining prior permission of the government and, though the petitioner was appointed during 1987 as a part-time lecturer, and may have fulfilled all the conditions stipulated by the government for his regularization, it had come to their notice that the petitioner was appointed without prior permission only when the management was asked to submit proposals in respect of all part-time lecturers who had fulfilled the conditions prescribed in terms of G.O.Ms. No. 328, dated 15-10-1997. It is stated that, amongst the conditions stipulated in the said G.O., is that there should be sanctioned posts, that the subject should be admiitted to grant-in-aid and since the post of Sanskrit as a subject, and as one of the second languages, was not admitted to aid, the petitioner was not respondent college and that he has been working, ever since the date of his initial appointment as a lecturer in 1987, for more than 28 hours each week, and that, though the maximum workload assigned to Lecturers of other colleges was only 18 hours per week, he had been denied regularization of his services and payment of regular salary and allowances as are applicable to lecturers in aided posts.