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Judgment
Arun Kumar Goel, Judge.
Heard learned counsel for the parties. In this writ petition prayer made by the petitioner is that she may be allowed to continue as Lecturer in
Political Science as also to regularise her by restraining the respondents from terminating her services as Lecturer in Political Science.
Counteraffidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondents, on the affidavit of Registrar, University of Jammu.
Petition is admitted and is taken up for final hearing at this stage.
In order to properly understand the controversy involved in this case .brief facts need to be noticed. As per petitioner's case projected in the writ
petition, she applied for the post of Lecturer in Political Science (lien bound but likely to be lien free). In terms of Annexure B dated 23.10.1997
petitioner was appointed as such and she resumed her duty with the respondentUniversity. Further case of the petitioner is that though the post
notified was lien bound but was likely to be lien free and before joining her employment with the respondent no. 1 she was working as Research
Officer in Model Institute of Education and Research and which post she had resigned. Petitioner claimed that she was assured about her
permanent absorption in the University after her appointment and since there is clear cut vacancy in the department of Political Science she in any
case was required to be absorbed in the University permanently.
On the other hand, stand of the respondents is that in all there are six sanctioned posts of Lecturers in Political Science which are being manned by
the following persons:
Dr. Anurag Gangal,
Dr. Ashutosh Kumar,
Dr. Dev Raj Singh,
Ms. Karuna Thinker,
Dr. Raju Goel, and
Dr. Yog Raj Sharma.
Since Dr Dev. Raj Singh, was on extraordinary leave for a period of two years and has rejoined the department on the expiry of said period of
leave as such the appointment of the petitioner stood automatically cancelled w.e.f. 30.6.1998 AN. Besides this the University authorities were
informed by the Head of the Department of Political Science that the petitioner had not been given any departmental assignment and she is no more
borne on the strength of the department of Political Science of the. respondentUniversity and as such the respondents are not liable to pay any
salary to her w.e.f. 1.7.1998 onwards. Further case of the respondentUniversity is that Dev Raj Singh has joined the department and the petitioner
having been appointed against the lien bound vacancy, her no legal or fundamental right was infringed.
When this writ petition came up for consideration on 2.9.1998 it was submitted on behalf of the petitioner that she has come across some
material from the Institute of Management and Public Administration (IMPA) where the said Dr. Dev Raj Singh, in whose place against the lien
bound vacancy the petitioner had been appointed, was actually working and the stand of the respondentUniversity to the contrary is not correct.
Petitioner was asked to file Supplementary Affidavit which she did and alongwith it AnnexureS1 was filed. In this Annexure, Dr. Dev Raj Singh
had been shown to be Assistant Course Director by the IMPA authorities and was further shown to be a person who was to deliver lectures in
different lectures on different dates. This pertained to period from 23.6.1998 to 18.7.1998. Besides this the said Dr. Dev Raj Singh was also
shown to be a Member of programme staff as also Course Director for the period from 3.8.1998 to 29.8.1998. To this Supplementary Affidavit
the respondents through its Registrar filed counteraffidavit wherein joining report submitted by Dr Dev Raj Singh on the afternoon of 30.6.1998
was annexed as Annexure R1, whereas a letter dt. 15.7.1998. Annexure R2, showing that the said Dr. Dev Raj Singh Lecturer having participated
in the Post Graduate Department of Political Science of the respondentUniversity was also annexed with the counter. In addition to this the copy of
attendance certificate by the said Dr. Dev Raj Singh dt. 25.8.1998. Annexure R3 showing that he is attending to his duty w.e.f. 30.6.1998 and he
having not availed and kind of leave during this period is also there.
Finally vide communication dt. 7.9.1998 Annexure R5, issued by the Deputy Director J and K IMPA Jammu, the University authorities were
informed that Dr. Dev Raj Singh ex Associate Professor of the said Institute had tendered his resignation w.e.f. 30.6.1998 forenoon as per his
application dt. 29.5.1998 and the same has been accepted by the Institute. It was further informed that the said person did not remain in the pay
rool of the Institute but continued to be associated with 3rd Foundational Course for KAS Officers but in an advisory capacity for which the said
Officer did not accept any sort of honorarium/remuneration.
From the above narrated facts it is clearly made out that the petitioner was admittedly appointed as a Lecturer in Political Science against the lien
bound post for which she had applied in response to Annexure A in terms of the letter of her appointment Annexure B. From the facts as well as
from contemporaneous record it is also established beyond any shadow of doubt that Dr. Dev Raj Singh who was earlier working with the Institute
of Public Administration and Management of the State Government had resigned on expiry of his extraordinary leave and had joined the
respondentUniversity on the afternoon of 30.6.1998 and since then was regularly attending to his duties in the department of Political Science of
the University. This position is clearly established from Annexures R1 to R5 attached with the Supplementary Affidavit of the Registrar of the
University dated 8.9.1998. That being so, the entire case of the petitioner about asking for a writ of Mandamus falls to the ground because she
having joined against a lien bound post and the incumbent had resumed his duty after the expiry of his extraordinary leave as detailed hereinabove.
To be fair to Mr. Sethi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, it needs to be noticed here that he made a prayer to otherwise accommodate
the petitioner in the department of Political Science of the respondentuniversity since she is already teaching. Stand of the university in this behalf is
that she cannot be adjusted because there are two posts of Professors which stand already advertised and in response to such advertisement for
the post of professors applicationforms have been received and the petitioner being neither eligible for the post of Professor nor having applied
against any of the said two posts advertised for, this plea appears to have been raised simply to be rejected.
No other point has been raised.
Consequently, this writ petition having no merit is accordingly dismissed, alongwith CMP No. 1655/98.