KHAGENDRA NATH SEN Vs. UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three Rules are directed against the Resolution of supersession of the governing body of the three colleges -- Asutosh, Jogmaya and Shyama Prasad and appointing an ad-hoc committee for the purpose of re-constituting the governing bodies according to the provisions of the law. The said Resolution was passed by the Syndicate of the University of Calcutta in its meeting held on December 14, 1973. The petitioner, the Secretary of the superseded managing committee of the aforesaid three colleges, challenges the said Resolution of the Syndicate.

(2.) In or about March, 1927, Asutosh College was registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act (Act XXI of 1861) so that its governing body was to be formed in accordance with its rules. In 1929 Asutosh Mukherjee Memorial Institute was also registered as a Society under the said Act. Jogmaya Debi College was originally started as the morning section for women students and Shyama Prasad College as the evening section for Arts and Commerce students of the said Asutosh College. In 1958, the said two splinter colleges created out of the said Asutosh College, were granted affiliation by the University subject to the condition that there would be three separate governing bodies of the three colleges. The Asutosh College governing body was a registered society and the other two colleges, being units of the same parent body, bad their governing bodies constituted on the same lines as that of the Asutosh College. Deputy Inspector of Colleges by his letter dated 26-8-1970 informed the petitioner that the said three colleges, namely, Asutosh, Jogmaya and Shama Prasad had come within the purview of the Statute 100 of the Calcutta University Act, 1966. The said intimation was made according to the direction of the Vice-Chancellor and the Syndicate. Thereafter, the Inspector of College by his letter dated September 10, 1973, requested the petitioner to furnish certain particulars in view of the fact that the petitioner in his letter dated 3-2-1970 referred to the subsequent amended rules. The petitioner replied to the said letter on 18-9-1973 wherein he requested the Inspector of Colleges to allow sufficient time to give a considered report Thereafter, a reminder was sent by the Dy. Inspector of Colleges by his letter dated 24-9-1973 requesting the petitioner to forward the necessary documents on or before November 5, 1973. Dy a letter dated 3-11-1973 time was extended till 15-11-1973, Thereupon on November 22, 1973, a show cause notice was issued by the Inspector of Colleges to the petitioner calling upon him to establish with relevant materials the validity of the composition of the governing bodies of three colleges. The petitioner replied to the said show cause on 29-11-1973 wherein the petitioner prayed for time till January 2, 1974, to give his reply. A resolution of the governing bodies of the three colleges held at the meeting on 25-11-1973 was also forwarded along with the said letter wherein it is stated that the Calcutta University be moved for extension of time for compliance with the requirements indicated in the letter under reference at least till 2-1-1974 and that the Secretary be requested to write to the Inspector of Colleges, Calcutta University, to that effect Thereafter On the 7th December, 1973, another letter was sent by the petitioner to the Inspector of Colleges in reply to the said show cause notice dated 22-11-1973, By a memo dated 15-12-1973, the Inspector of Colleges informed the petitioner that governing bodies of the said three colleges had been superseded by the Syndicate of the Calcutta University in its meeting held on December 14, 1973, and appointed an ad hoc committee for the administration of the said three colleges and requested the petitioner to make over charge of the said three colleges to the Chairman and the Secretary of the said ad hoc committee. Respondents Nos. 5 to 13 were appointed as the members of the said ad hoc committee. On receipt of the said letter, the petitioner wrote a letter on the 17th December, 1973, to the Registrar, Calcutta University, requesting him to furnish the said college authorities with a copy of the resolution passed by the Syndicate in its meeting held on 14-12-1973. On the 24th December, T973, the petitioner was served with a copy of the resolution of the Syndicate dated 14-12-1973. The petitioner being aggrieved by the said resolution dated 14-12-1973, passed by the University and the Syndicate moved this Court in an application under Article 226 of the Constitution and obtained these Rules on December 28, 1973.

(3.) In the Affodavit-in-opposition affirmed by Amitesh Chandra Banerjee and filed on behalf of the University of Calcutta, the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar, wherein it is stated that investigation revealed that at no material time had any of the authorities of Asutosh College or any of the other two colleges submitted any alleged amendment of rules of Asutosh College i.e., the Society, to the Registrar of Societies. The authorities of the group of colleges claimed that in July, 1946, the then governing body of the said Asutosh College adopted a comprehensive scheme for the re-constitution of the governing body of the said colleges, but no such effective scheme for the revised constitution of the governing body of the said college has ever been produced before the University authorities or the Registrar of Societies. For years matters were allowed to drift. The authorities of the University learned on representation made on behalf of the said three colleges and believed that each of the said three colleges had a valid constitution which would permit each of them to avail of the privilege of the Statute 100. The University had by virtue of its statutory powers dissolved the governing bodies of the said three colleges and appointed an ad hoc governing body for the said colleges for administration of the three colleges and to reconstitute their governing bodies according to law. It is further stated that by its resolution dated 21-11-1973 the college committee of the University of Calcutta which is a committee constituted from the members of the Syndicate in forms of Section 55 (2) (b) (iii) of the Calcutta University Act, 1966, and is delegated with the powers and duties of the Syndicate to deal with the affairs of affiliated colleges, directed the issue of show cause notice on the said three colleges, requesting them to establish their authority of the composition of the governing bodies of the said three colleges on or before 30-11-1973. The ad hoc committee was constituted by the Syndicate in exercise of its powers under Section 4 (ii) read with Section 23 of the Calcutta University Act, 1966, inasmuch as there was no validly constituted governing bodies of the said three colleges and as such the said three colleges were being managed by incompetent governing bodies to the detriment of the said three colleges. The consideration upon the Syndicate and the Calcutta University to supersede the governing bodies of the said three colleges was that as members of the governing bodies of the said three colleges were not validly appointed and as such they had no authority or competence in accordance with law to act as members of the governing bodies of the said 3 colleges and to administer the affairs of the said colleges.