ARJUN GANPATRAO MAHAJAN Vs. PUNJABRAO KRISHI VIDYAPEETH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has claimed declaration in this writ petition that the age of retirement prescribed for the academic staff of the Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth at 58 years under the provisions of Statute 138 (a) framed under the Maharashtra Agricultural Universities (Krishi Vidyapeeth) Statute, 1990 read with Rule 10 (1) of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1982 and Rule 10. 1 of the Punjabrao Agricultural University (Krishi Vidyapeeth)Services Rules, 1971 is invalid and unconstitutional and that the age of retirement of the members of the academic staff in the service of P. K. V. including the petitioner should be 60 years. Accordingly, he has claimed that the notice of retirement dated 24-6-1993 issued by the respondent No. 1 P. K. V. seeking to retire him from service with effect from 30-6-1993 upon completion of age of 58 years should be set aside and he should be allowed to continue in service till completion of the age of 60 years.

(2.) THE facts are that the petitioner, whose date of birth is 1-7-1935, was appointed as an Agricultural Supervisor with effect from 14-10-1959 in the Agricultural Department of the State of Bombay under the Superintending Agricultural Officer, Pune. He was promoted as Agricultural Officer in the service of the State Government with effect from 7-3-1963. According to him, he was thereafter posted as Lecturer in Agronomy in the Maharashtra Agriculture Service Class-II in the College of Agriculture with effect from 27-9-1966 as per the Order of Director of Agriculture, Pune, dated 25-8-66. It may be seen that the State Government decided to establish an Agricultural University in the State by the name Maharashtra Krishi Vidyapeeth, for which it enacted Maharashtra Agricultural University (Krishi Vidyapeeth) Act, 1967 (for short "k. V. Act, 1967) some of the provisions of which including its section 53 with which we are concerned came into force with effect from 1-1-1968, the remaining provisions coming into force with effect from 1-6-1968. A separate Agricultural University was formed by the State Government with a view to provide better facilities for education in agriculture and allied matters, and in particular for the development of agricultural sciences and for matters connected with the purposes aforesaid.

(3.) AFTER the Agricultural University was formed under the K. V. Act, 1967, the Government decided to hand over the existing Government Agriculture Colleges with the entire staff therein to the said University. Section 53 was enacted in the K. V. Act, 1967 for the said purpose. What is pertinent to be seen in section 53 is that the Government employees who were to be transferred and to be absorbed in the Agricultural University were given a guarantee that their previous service conditions would not be varied to their disadvantage after their absorption as employees of the Agricultural University. The petitioner who, as already shown hereinabove, was working as a Lecturer in Agronomy in Maharashtra Agriculture Service Class-II, was allocated to the Agricultural University and was thereafter with effect from 14-7-1969 transferred to the post of Assistant Professor Agronomy which is equivalent to the post of a Lecturer in the Government College of Agriculture.