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Case Title: SANDEEP KUMAR VERSUS GB PANT INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY GHURDAURI & ORS.

Case No: (Arising out of SLP (C) No(s). 8788-8789 of 2023)

Decided on:16th April,2024

Quorum:  THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MEHTA

Facts of the case

The Governors’ Board authorized the recommendations made by the Selection Committee, which resulted in the appellant being chosen for the Registrar job. However, a disclaimer was included, noting that because of multiple concerns regarding the appellant’s candidacy for the office of Registrar, the appointment order will be stayed. In response to the purported complaint(s), a three-person committee was formed to review the appellant’s qualifications and testimony. It further mentioned that the appellant fulfilled the qualifications to be nominated for the Registrar position. Our strong belief is that the appellant’s services should not have been terminated without first undergoing a disciplinary investigation. Doing so would have been totally unjustified, illegal, and a blatant violation of natural justice principles.

Appellant’s contentions

It was not the petitioner’s intention to not record the previously indicated minutes. With reference to the June 16, 2018, meeting minutes. The recommendations of the Selection Committee were approved by the Board of Governors, who then appointed the appellant as the Institute’s Registrar. The appellant was being considered for a one-year probationary term as the Registrar. He argued that the appellant’s services should have been considered automatically regularized because he had been the Institute’s Registrar for nearly two years, a satisfactory position to hold. You will be put on probation for a year, but it could be extended for an extra year if your performance is judged inadequate. Probationary extensions will no longer be issued. In the course of your probation, your job could be terminated without cause and with a month’s notice in writing, or with cash in lieu of notice. Likewise, you may give a month’s notice in writing before departing the institute, or you could grant income equivalent to a month’s notice.

Respondent’s Contentions

That because the appellant did not comply with the regulations, it was illegal for him to be appointed in the first place to the post of Registrar. Thus, he contended, there was no need to carry out a standard investigation before to terminating the appellant’s employment. He argued that the appellant was ineligible for equitable relief under the exceptional writ jurisdiction because he failed to include a crucial document in the writ petition that was filed with the High Court. However, Shri Tiwari was unable to dispute that no disciplinary investigation had been conducted by the before the appellant was given the severe penalty of termination of employment.

Court Analysis and Judgement

The contested decisions made by the High Court on August 4, 2022, and February 21, 2023, are reversed and annulled. The order of May 19, 2022, which terminated the appellant’s employment as the Institute’s Registrar, is quashed and set aside since it is likewise found illegal. The appellant’s position as Registrar at the G.B. Pant Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ghurdauri, shall be reinstated immediately. He will be qualified for all subsequent benefits. The respondent Institute may pursue legal action against the appellant to impose disciplinary sanctions, if it so desires.

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Judgement Analysis Written by – K. Immey Grace