BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka has directed the Malnad College of Engineering in Hassan to pay Rs 40 lakh each to Dr MK Ravishankar and Dr KP Ravikumar, professors, whose services were terminated owing to closure of the branch where they worked for want of students.
A division bench of Justice DK Singh and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju passed this order on March 3, allowing the appeals of the government-aided college challenging the order passed on December 14, 2023, by a single judge on two writ petitions.
“We are of the considered view that the petitioners (professors) will not have a legal or contractual right to continue in the employment, once the posts of professor which they were working in the automobile engineering branch got abolished on closure of the department,” the bench observed.
However, the bench said that they must be given some financial assistance for losing their jobs before the date of superannuation at the age of 65. “We, therefore, direct the college to pay each Rs 40 lakh,” the bench said.
The single judge had directed the college to continue the services of the petitioners till they attain superannuation and pay them salary and allowances in accordance with UGC regulations.
It was stated that the department of automobile engineering was a self-financing wing of the college as it did not receive any grant-in-aid from the government. Due to the decline in admissions, a resolution was passed in 2021 to close the automobile engineering course with approvals from VTU and AICTE. The posts of professor were also abolished.
The professors were relieved in 2023. But they refused to accept the relieving order and approached the high court. The single judge held that the college would not be entitled to terminate the services of the teaching faculty.