UNIVERSITY OF DELHI Vs. S DUTT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are two appeals (F.A.O. Nos. 119-D and 120-D of 1954) filed by the University of Delhi against the order of a Sub Judge at Delhi which have been withdrawn from the Courts of the District Judge and Senior Sub Judge in which they were filed and transferred to this Court under section 24, Civil Procedure Code. Only one order is challenged in the appeals which were apparently duplicated in different Courts by way of caution as the appellant was not sure in which Court the appeal lay.

(2.) The case has a long and complicated history. The respondent, Dr. S. Dutt was appointed by the University as Professor of Chemistry on the 10th of May, 1944. As there was only one Professor of this subject he automatically became Head of Department of Chemistry. On the 24th of February, 1949 a second Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Seshadri was appointed by the University and after only a month, on the 28th of March, 1949, Dr. Seshadri was appointed as head of the Chemistry Department thus superseding Dr. Dutt. This appointment was challenged by Dr. Dutt who instituted a suit on the 18th of October, 1949 claiming a declaration that his removal from the headship of the Chemistry Department was illegal.

(3.) It appears that there were other matters in dispute between Dr. Dutt and the University besides the headship of the Chemistry Department such as the question of his selection grade and certain allegations of misconduct which had been made against him, and on the 26th of October, 1950 at a meeting of the Executive Council of the University an offer by Dr. Dutt to withdraw his suit and allow the charges levelled against him by the University authorities to be referred to Sirs Vardhachariar and Bakshi Sir Tek Chand was accepted and embodied in a resolution of the Council according to which all disputes between Dr. Dutt and the University were referred to the two gentlemen named above for their investigations and findings, and their decision was to be final and binding. In pursuance of this undertaking Dr. Dutt withdrew his suit on the 3rd of November, 1950.