Rajasthan HC Directs State To Not Summarily Dispense With Services Of Asst Professors Of Previously Self-Financed Colleges, Asks Govt To Pay Their Salary Arrears

The Rajasthan High Court has recently granted interim relief to a group of Assistant Professors who were seeking absorption into state services from colleges that were previously self-financed, by directing the state not to dispense with their services summarily.

The single-judge bench of Justice Arun Monga has also instructed the respondent state authorities to pay arrears of salary to the teaching staff for the services rendered in the past few months after verification.

“The arrears of the salary be remitted to them within a period of 30 days from today and the copy of the order so passed be placed on the Court file”, the court accordingly noted in the order.

According to the petitioners, they are assistant professors who have been in service for over 10 years without any break. They apprehend that their services will be summarily dispensed by the state government since they are all seeking regularisation now.

The teaching staff who preferred the connected writ petitions were working in self-financed institutions when the government initiated steps to implement a uniform policy to convert these colleges into government colleges. In 2012, the state informed the respective college development committees of this particular plan of action.

According to the petition, the proposals put forth by various committees of self-financed colleges to be taken over by the government, including all their movable and immovable assets, were agreed upon by the state.

After 14 months, in 2014, the said decision to take over those colleges was de-notified by the state, and the state, in turn, declared them as self-financed colleges again and directed the respective college development authorities to start managing the affairs of respective institutions.

Against the said decision, many self-financed colleges approached the High Court, and the order of de-notification issued by the state was quashed in 2016. Though the respondent state authorities preferred a special appeal, it was again dismissed by the High Court.

According to the petitioners, after a wait of almost 28 months, the state declared some of the self-financing institutions as government colleges. Soon thereafter, in 2020, guidelines were issued for the absorption of teaching staff and directed them to be present at Jaipur for document verification. As per the state's instructions, salaries to those teaching staff awaiting regularisation should have been paid by the College Management Committees until absorption. The order issued by the state in 2021 also mentioned that the staff couldn't work directly in the Government College or receive regular salaries. They could only serve as guest faculties if necessary, even after merging a self-financed institution with a government college.

In 2022, respondent authorities directed the Commissioner of College Education to conduct the screening process before absorbing petitioners in the state services as per the relevant service rules, when on an earlier occasion, the screening of the petitioners had already been done, it is stated in the petition.

However, the aggrieved teaching staff haven't been absorbed yet, and they have been facing financial distress for over two years due to non-payment of salaries, the petition adds. This situation has arisen due to the respondent authorities restarting the entire screening process prior to the absorption of staff into state services under the RAJ-CES Rules, 2023. These staff were from colleges converted to Government Colleges and the state has disregarded the screening process already conducted according to the Rules of 1977, the petition states. These acts of the respondent authorities have been challenged by the petitioners before the High Court.

Along with the interim relief, the court has also directed to issue notice to the State Government through the Department of Higher Education, the Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary (Administration) of the Higher Education Department, and the Director (Directorate of College Education), returnable on 24.05.2024.

For Petitioners: Advocate Aishwarya Anand

Case Title: Babu Lal Bheel v. State Of Rajasthan & Ors.

Case No: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 4504/2024 and Connected Matters

Click Here To Read/Download Order