Calcutta High Court Says : Registrar Of University Cannot Suspend An Assistant Professor
Calcutta High Court Says : Registrar Of University Cannot Suspend An Assistant Professor
Recently, Hon’ble Calcutta High Court while hearing the case involving Visva Bharati University, the single-judge bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya set aside a showcase notice and the subsequent suspension of an Assistant Professor.
Using the Visva-Bharati Act, 1951, Learned Counsel for the petitioner-professor argued that the Registrar of the University lacked the authority to issue the impugned notices or take any disciplinary action, and thus all subsequent steps would be null and void.
It was also claimed that the Vice-Chancellor of the University lacked the authority to initiate disciplinary action against anyone in the petitioner’s position. It was also claimed that the Memorandum of Charge is vague because it lacks specifics of misconduct for which the Charge-sheet should be quashed.
The Court investigated the claim and found it to be true.
“The power to suspend an Adhyapaka or other member of the academic staff is provided in section 38.A of the Act, which includes the power of the Upacharya (Vice-Chancellor) to suspend an Adhayapaka or a member of the academic staff if the conditions in section 38.A are met (1). 38.A (2), on the other hand, requires that the order of suspension be immediately reported to the Karma-Samiti (Executive Council), and 38.A (3) empowers the Karma-Samiti to revoke the order of suspension if the Karma-Samiti believes that the circumstances of the case do not warrant the suspension.”
The procedure is democratic and guards against any arbitrary or unilateral act of suspension of an Adhyapaka or a University employee by referring the matter to the Karma-Samiti (Executive Council), which has the authority to revoke the order of suspension or confirm/reverse the action taken by the Upacharya, the Court noted.
The Court concluded that the University did not follow the procedures outlined in Sections 38 and 14 of the Visva-Bharati Act of 1951.
