RAMKRISHNA MISSION VIVEKANANDA CENTENARY COLLEGE Vs. SANTIDEB GHOSH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The spectre of controversy over the special status enjoyed by the Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College at Rahara (to be referred hereinafter as the college) since its inception, is still haunting the college, as it is evident from the Writ Petition No. 29805(W) of 1997 filed by the teachers of the said college against the College Authority and the resultant writ appeal thereof preferred by the College Authority which is now before us for disposal along with the stay petition.

(2.) The petitioners contended in the writ petition that since 1980, the College Authority in the name of claiming special status for the college is openly flouting the Acts made by the State, namely, the West Bengal Act of 1975 which is for securing service protection for the college teachers and the West Bengal the Act of 1978 which prescribed the procedure for selecting college teachers including that of the post of Principal by College Service Commission. The petitioners have stated that there is no dispute over the fact that the college is a fully Government sponsored college and it has been receiving Government aid for its day-to-day management and also for its development programme. The petitioners submit that although there is specific mandate of the State Government for constitution of governing body of Government sponsored colleges as contained in Government Memo dated 18th April, 1978, the College Authority is being run by a specially constituted governing body with one of the Monks of the Ramkrishna Mission as head of the executive wing of the college holding the post of Principal. The petitioners contend that as per provisions laid down in the Act of 1975 and also in the Act of 1978, the post of Principal is to be selected by the College Service Commission on receipt of requisition from the concerned college and there is no scope for appointing any other person as Principal of the college by-passing the said statutory mandate. The petitioners contend that as per provisions of the Calcutta University First Statute, 1979 (since amended), there cannot be a vacancy of the post of Principal for indefinite period and to meet the exigency it has been provided in Section 101 (B) of the said statute that the senior most teacher of the college shall be appointed teacher- in-charge till a regular incumbent for the post of Principal is selected by the College Service Commission.

(3.) It is the clear case of the writ petitioners that since one Sibamayananda, a Monk Principal of the college resigned from his post, no attempt was made by the College Authority to fill up the post of the Principal through College Service Commission and instead another Monk of the Ramkrishna Mission was appointed as Principal by-passing the provisions of the Act of 1975 and the Act of 1978 and the College Authority also ignored the claim of one of the petitioners to the post of teacher-in-charge being the senior most teacher in utter violation of the provisions of Calcutta University First Statute, 1979. The petitioners contend that when their grievance made before the appropriate authority went unheeded, they been compelled to file the writ petition with the reliefs of issuance for appropriate writs so that senior most member of the teaching staff may be appointed as teacher-in-charge till the post of Principal is filled up by a regular incumbent selected by the College Service Commission as per the provisions of the Act of 1978. The petitioners have also prayed for appropriate writ for removal of the present Monk Principal so as to pave the way for implementation of the provisions of the Act of 1975 and the Act of 1978 and also the Calcutta University First Statute, 1979.