TARA SINGH Vs. PUNJABI UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through the writ petition, the petitioners have sought for a direction against the State Education machineries that the 4th respondent conforms to law with reference to payment of salary and other dues and allow the petitionesr to continue to discharge the duties as Lecturers in the light of orders passed by the Director Public Instructions, 2nd respondent herein. The principal contest is entered by the College management, which is the respondent herein. The response on behalf of the College was fairly simple that the order that the petitioner seeks for enforcement, has since been set aside by the Education Tribunal and the matter has been sent back to the 2nd respondent for fresh consideration and disposal on merits. As regards the second part of the prayer contained in the petition for payment of salary and other dues, the response would be that the same may be considered by the 2nd respondent before whom the matter now stands for adjudication.

(2.) Between the loud wails of the petitioners claiming the salary and other dues and the distancing from the enforcement aspect immediately by consigning the issue for consideration before the 2nd respondent himself, there is many a story. I would have normally felt inclined to leave the case only to the 2nd respondent to consider the whole issue in the light of the matter having been remitted by the Education Tribunal for consideration, but the 2nd respondent himself has caused in some way the deepening of the poignancy of the situation for the petitioners. The petitioners, who while working as Lecturers in the College came under the scanner of the 4th respondent for some alleged improprieties committed by them and pursuant to an enquiry against the misconduct, they were suspended from service on 28.02.2005. The enquiry yielded to a finding of guilt and the management had taken a decision to remove them from service. The provisions of the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service of Employees) Act, 1974 and the rules framed thereunder dictated a procedure that required an approval from the Director of Public Instructions to give effect to their decision. The teachers are also governed by the Service Conduct Rules in Non- Governmental Colleges framed by the Punjab University and published through its calendar in Volume-III, Part-II, Chapter XX. The rule provided that the period of suspension of an employee shall not exceed 6 months and during the period of suspension, the employee shall be paid allowances equal to half of the amount of the salary even during the period of suspension. The subsistence allowance as provided under the rules had not been given and after sending the matter for approval with the 2nd respondent, the management was only expecting its decision.

(3.) Although the enquiry and the decision had been taken by the 4th respondent within a period of 6 months, the 2nd respondent did not take any decision, driven perhaps by a perception that a decision on merit would sour the relationship between the teachers and the management and had attempted in his own way mediation between the parties. In the meanwhile, the teachers appeared to have also petitioned to the Vice Chancellor of the University through their Union into certain misdeeds of the College namely the victimization and non- payment of gratuity and other allowances even to retired teachers. An Enquiry Committee had been set up by the Vice Chancellor. Representatives of the Union and of the College had been examined and the Committee gave a report on the representation that included also a reference to the fact that the suspension of the petitioner was not justified and there was no substance in any of the allegations levelled by the College management against them. The parleys for peaceful resolution of dispute had gone side by side and in a meeting held on 07.03.2007 before the Dean of the College Development Council, the representative of the management through the president of the Managing Committee and the affected teachers had taken part, when the Managing Committee had conceded that they would reinstate the teachers and allow them to join w.e.f. 15.03.2007. It appears that the teachers also reported for duty on 19.03.2007 and expected that they would be served with reinstatement orders with retrospective effect from 15.03.2007 as promised by them. The College management appeared to have some rethink on the whole process and a fresh representation had therefore been given by the petitioner and other persons to the representative of the University who was a part of the College Development Council apprising them of the fact that the peace parlays that seemed to end had taken a back-track and they could not resume there duties.