CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court, comprising justices Paresh Upadhyay and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, on Tuesday stayed a single judge’s order terminating the appointment of 254 assistant professors to six colleges run by Pachaiyappas Trust Board in Chennai and neighbouring districts.
Finding the judge’s order unsustainable, the division bench said the impugned order be kept in abeyance till a final decision on the matter is taken.
The interim relief was granted on a batch of appeals by 254 assistant professors—appointed in 2013, 2014, and 2015 challenging the November 17 order of the single judge terminating their appointments citing irregularities and illegalities.
Counsels for the appellants contended that the appointments were quashed on receipt of reports from the Director of Collegiate Education and the interim administrator unilaterally. The qualifications of the appellants were approved by the university after their selection and appointment, they told the court and prayed the division bench to set aside the impugned order of the single judge.
The latest order means the assistant professors can resume their duty. The appointment of 254 assistant professors made in 2013, 2014 and 2015 was declared null and void by Justice SM Subramaniam on November 17, 2022, for the irregularities committed in selection. Directing the trust board to terminate the services of all the faculties, the judge ordered fresh selection.