Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Dr. Anupam Hazra vs Union Of India & Ors on 11 June, 2018
Author: Arindam Sinha
Bench: Arindam Sinha
1 11.06.2018
Court No.04 Item no.14 skc W.P. 14179 (W) of 2017 Dr. Anupam Hazra Vs. Union of India & Ors.
Dr. Anupam Hazra ... Petitioner ( in person) Mr. Subrata Roy Karmakar Mr. Sanjay Bhattaharyya Mr. Arindam Banerjee ... for Visva Bharati University Mr. Anil Kumar Gupta ... for the U.G.C. Petitioner appears in person. He demonstrates facts to be as follows:
By order dated 7th June, 2014 he was granted extra ordinary leave (without pay) for a period of one year up to 1st June, 2015. By office order dated 12th May, 2015 the University conveyed that said leave is going to expire on 1st June, 2015 and petitioner is expected to get a clearance from Lok Sabha Secretariat and rejoin duty on or before 1st June, 2015 failing which he will be deemed to have reverted back to his parent organization, Assam University Silchar. On 26th May, 2015 petitioner, as appears from disclosure at page 58 of the writ petition, sought to resume duty. By writing dated 28th May, 2015 of Head, Department of Social work of the University, inter alia, following was said:2
"In accordance with the above mentioned Office Orders the application does not satisfy the required conditions. The Department does not take cognizance of your application and cannot permit you to resume duties."
Subsequently by another writing dated 2nd June, 2015 the next incumbent to the office of Head, Department of Social Work of the University stated as follows:
"With reference to your above letter this is to inform you that Dr. Anupam Hazra, Assistant Professor, has not reported to the undersigned till today i.e. 2nd June, 2015.
This is for your information and record."
On 13th August, 2015 Joint Department on Offices of Profit (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) Fourth Report was presented from which the following is extracted below:
"Therefore, Dr. Anupam Hazra can hold both the offices of Member of Parliament and that of Assistant Professor at the Visva-Bharati University, as under Article 102(1)(a), the office of Assistant Professor does not qualify as an office of profit under the Government.
Further, it is held by the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit that since the office of Assistant Professor at the Visva-bharati University is not an office under the Central Government in the absence of vital requirements, the University may resolve the matter on its own in light of the specified service requirements.
In doing so, the Committee recommends that the directions of the UGC Circular dated 10th September, 1974 and 06 March, 1987 and the circulars issued from time to time regulating the service conditions of teachers be strictly followed by the University."
Mr. Gupta, learned advocate appears on behalf of University Grants Commission and files affidavit-in-opposition. He refers to circular letter dated 10th September, 2014 issued by his client to Vice Chancellor of Universities. It would be sufficient to extract the following from the said letter.
"The University Grants Commission had referred this question earlier for advice to its Advisory Committee of Vice-Chancellors and 3 the Commission after considering the advice of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors had expressed the view that "the teachers who are either elected or nominated to the Parliament/State Legislature may not be required to resign their academic position or to take long leave during the tenure of their membership. In order that the teaching work may not suffer, the University may consider prescribing the minimum number of days that such teachers should be available for their academic teaching and research work in the University. Such teachers should not hold any administrative position/responsibilities in the University or College during the period they are members of parliament/Legislature."
It appears petitioner wants to resume working with the University. He had filed this writ petition in June, 2017 and has been prosecuting the same. University will consider whether it sought to jump the gun. Reason attributed for not allowing petitioner to join may have been good reason as on May- June, 2015 but on or after 13th August, 2015 such reason stood obliterated.
List on 18th June, 2018 at the top of the motion list.
(Arindam Sinha, J.)