In a significant judgment delivered on August 13, 2024, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Justice R. Subramanian and Justice L. Victoria Gowri, dismissed a series of appeals filed by the State of Tamil Nadu. The case revolves around the delayed salary disbursement to Assistant Professors who were appointed in 2009 but faced unnecessary administrative hurdles and delays from the state authorities.
The appeals were brought forward by the State of Tamil Nadu, represented by the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, the Director of Collegiate Education, and the Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Tirunelveli Region. The respondents in the case were S.G. Pushpalatha Gracelin, an Assistant Professor at Sarah Tucker College, Tirunelveli, along with the college’s Correspondent cum Secretary and the Principal.
Case Background:
The respondents were appointed as Assistant Professors after obtaining the necessary permissions from the relevant authorities. Despite their appointments being approved on March 11, 2020, the Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Tirunelveli Region, inexplicably recalled the approval the very next day. This sudden recall led to a series of legal challenges initiated by the professors, culminating in the High Court’s involvement.
Legal Issues:
The primary legal issue revolved around the wrongful recall of the approval for the professors’ appointments and the subsequent delay in disbursing their salaries. The professors, despite being appointed in 2009 and having their appointments approved in 2020, were denied their rightful salaries until July 2022. The state authorities argued that they lacked sufficient funds to pay the arrears and were awaiting a special grant from the government, which they claimed would be used to disburse the pending salaries.
Court’s Decision:
In a strongly worded judgment, Justice R. Subramanian, delivering the judgment on behalf of the bench, condemned the state government’s actions, terming them as an “atrocious game” played against its own citizens. The court expressed surprise and dismay at the government’s argument regarding the lack of funds and noted that the Assistant Professors had been working in approved positions since 2009. The court observed:
“We are surprised that such a plea is being taken by the government…an attempt was made to cancel the approval and put up a stage-managed show to deny salary…we do not see any reason to interfere with the orders of the learned single Judge.”
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The court upheld the decision of the single judge, which had directed the state to disburse the salaries from June 17, 2009, to June 2022, along with all attendant benefits. Furthermore, the High Court imposed exemplary costs of Rs. 50,000 per appeal, amounting to a total of Rs. 5,00,000 across the ten appeals. The court directed that half of this amount should be paid to the respective writ petitioners, with the remaining half to be donated to the CANCARE Foundation, a charitable organization based in Chennai.
