Bombay High Court
Ravindra Chandrashekhar ... vs The State Of Maharashtra Through ... on 17 February, 2021
Bench: S.C. Gupte, Surendra Pandharinath Tavade
63. WP 642-2021.doc
Anand IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 642 OF 2021
Ravindra Chandrashekhar Kulkarni .Petitioner
Vs.
The State of Maharashtra & ors. .Respondents
Ms Kalpalata Patil Bharaswadkar, Advocate, for the Petitioner
Mrs. P. N. Diwan, AGP, for the Respondent Nos. 1 & 2 - State
CORAM : S. C. GUPTE &
SURENDRA P. TAVADE, JJ.
DATE : 17 FEBRUARY 2021
JUDGMENT ( Per S. C. Gupte, J. )
. The subject matter of the present Petition is what
retirement age is to be applied to the Petitioner, who works as Chief
Librarian in Respondent No. 3 - College. It is not in dispute that the
Petitioner's employment and conditions of his employment are
governed by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act, 1998.
Section 2(35) of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act
defines "Teachers" as follows :-
" "teachers" means full time approved
Demonstrators, Tutors, Assistant
Lecturers, Lecturers, Readers, Associate
Professors, Professors and other
persons teaching or giving instructions
on full time basis in affiliated colleges
or approved institutions in the
University".
The definition clearly implies that it is only those persons
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who are teaching or giving instructions on full time basis in affiliated
colleges or approved institutions in the University who are covered by
the definition of "teachers". The definition, in the first place, includes
persons of specified designation, i. e. full-time approved professor,
associate professor, assistant professor, reader, lecturer and thereafter
contains a residual entry covering other persons teaching or giving
instructions on full time basis. It does not include a librarian in the
definition of teachers.
2. Learned counsel for the Petitioner relies on the definition
of "teachers" in Section 2(34) of the Maharashtra University Act, which
includes a librarian within the definition of teachers. This definition
cannot come to the aid of the Petitioner, who is governed by the
Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act, 1998 and not by the
Maharashtra University Act.
3. Learned counsel also relies on the decision of this Court in
the case of Vaijanath Maruti Kadam Vs. The Government of
Maharashtra & ors dated 3 March 2008. This decision was about a
petitioner, who was holding the post of Director of Physical Education
in Respondent No. 2 - College. At the time of his original appointment,
the approval granted to his appointment was as Physical Education
Teacher on full time basis. After considering the definition in Section
2(35) of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act and after
relying on the Judgment of the Supreme Court in P. S. Ramamohana
Rao Vs. A. P. Agricultural University and another , this Court held that
the duties discharged by the Petitioner ( which were described in para
12 of the Petition ) as a teacher of Physical Education included
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imparting to the students various skills and techniques of various
games and sports which also include guiding them about the rules of
various games and sports. The Physical Director thus having to teach
students several skills and techniques of these games apart from the
rules applicable to these games, he was said to come within the
definition of the term "Teachers" appearing in Section 2(35) of the
Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act. To arrive at this
conclusion, this Court relied on the extensive analysis made in the case
of P. S. Ramamohana Rao Vs. A. P. Agricultural University and another.
The Supreme Court had in P. S. Ramamohana Rao's case (Supra)
observed that it was inherent in the duties of a Physical Director that
he imparted to the students various skills and techniques of these
games and sports apart from the rules applicable to these games. A
physical education teacher or physical education director may be one
who could be said to be teaching or giving instructions on full time
basis. So long as his duties involve, giving of instructions on full time
basis to students, by way of imparting various skills and knowledge of
rules of particular games, such person may well qualify as a teacher
within this definition.
4. There is nothing to suggest that a librarian, who has a duty
of issuing books to the students, works as a person teaching or giving
instructions on full time basis to students in affiliated colleges or
approved institutions in the University.
5. Learned counsel also relies on the scheme approved by
University Grants Commission for Assistant Librarian / College
Librarian, Assistant Director of Physical Education / College Director of
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Physical Education. In this scheme, the age of superannuation for these
employees was enhanced to 62 years. Again, we are not concerned
here with the mandate of the University Grants Commission. As we
have noted above, we are only concerned with the Maharashtra
University of Health Sciences Act and not University Grants
Commission.
6. Learned counsel also relies on the Resolution of the
Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik. By this resolution,
the University appears to have made a recommendation to the
concerned department of the State Government to amend the
definition of "teachers" in the Act so as to include a librarian or an
assistant librarian and to bring the definition in line with the
corresponding definition under the Maharashtra University Act. The
very fact that by recommendation the University has proposed to
include librarians within the definition of "teachers" under the
Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act, goes a long way to
imply that as of now, under the unamended definition, librarians are
not included in the definition of "teachers".
7. There is, accordingly, no merit in the Petition. The Petition
is dismissed.
(SURENDRA P. TAVADE, J.) (S.C.GUPTE, J.)
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