No right to work until retirement if department is shut down, says Karnataka HC, upholds professors’ termination

Due to a continuous decline in admissions in the unaided automobile engineering department, the Board of Governors of the college resolved in March 2021 to discontinue the automobile engineering course. The department was thus shut down after obtaining the requisite permissions. Employees, including the teaching faculty, were either accommodated in other departments or relieved where accommodation was not possible.

The two professors were also issued relieving letters dated 11.09.2023, which they refused to accept. The college thus sent them by post and email, on receipt of which the professors challenged them before the high court. The single-judge bench passed the impugned order, following which the college filed an appeal.

Declining student intake

The college argued that the department had been shut down because there was not enough student intake and that it became financially unviable as it was a self-financing course.

The college said, “After abolition of the posts, the petitioners would not have any right in law or either under the contract of employment to continue in service till they would attain the age of superannuation.”

The college contended that though the All India Council for Technical Education [Pay Scales, Service Conditions and Qualifications for the Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Technical Institutions (Degree)] Regulations, 2010 and 2019, stipulate the maximum age for employees, it would not mean that services cannot be terminated when the post is abolished.

Moreover, the department where the professors could be accommodated was the mechanical engineering department. Since it was an aided department, the professors could not be transferred there without government approval and a direct recruitment process, the college argued.

‘Legitimate expectation’ of service till retirement age

Advocate Vaishali Hegde, appearing for the professors, contended that they would have the legitimate expectation of being allowed to continue in service till the age of superannuation as they were appointed with the specific mention of the applicability of AICTE regulations since the college is an aided institution receiving grants from both the central and state governments.

The professors also pointed to cases of other professors who were teaching non-aided courses but were transferred or promoted to aided courses without government approval or by holding a selection process.

Department shut down with VTU, AICTE approval

The court noted that the professors had not questioned the decisions made by the Board of Governors, as well as the no-objection and approval granted by VTU University and the AICTE to discontinue the course.

“The petitioners would have the right to continue till the age of superannuation had the Department of Automobile Engineering not closed down,” it said.

“Mere provision for the age of superannuation as 65 years under the AICTE Regulations would not entitle the petitioners to continue in the College till the age of 65 years, even if the Department of Automobile Engineering was validly closed, and the posts got abolished after all due permissions from the relevant authorities.”

However, taking into account the professors’ long service duration, from 1997 to 2023, the court directed the college to pay each of them Rs 40 lakh within four weeks, along with any statutory dues payable to them.