DEVENDRA SINGH Vs. RAJENDRA PRASAD CENTRAL AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The brief fact which have come on record is that the petitioner was promoted as Professor, Agronomy, in Rajendra Agriculture University, Pusa, Samastipur, on 27/7/2006. After coming into force of Bihar Agriculture University Act, 2010, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Central Agriculture University Act, 2016, was enacted. As per Sec. 3(t) of the Act, 2016, the visitors are defined and Sec. 44 of the Act provides that the first Chancellor and first Vice-Chancellor shall be appointed by the visitors for five years. Sec. 45 of the Act repealed the Bihar Agriculture University Act, 1987 and further provided all the grants and awards shall be deemed to be provided by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Central Agriculture University. After formation of the Central University petitioner was posted as Dean-cum-Principal, Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi, apart from holding the post of Director, Seed and Farm, vide order dtd. 5/7/2017. By order dtd. 7/12/2018 he was posted as Professor, Department of Agronomy, with the University. He was further nominated as the Head of the Department of Agronomy along with his original posting of Professor-cum-Chief Scientist, Agronomy, at the University vide order dtd. 11/9/2020.

(2.) The petitioner has by way of the writ petition challenged the order whereby he has been transferred to Pandit Deendeyal Upadhayay College of Horticulture and Forestry, Pipra Kothi, East Champaran, vide order dtd. 8/12/2021.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the post of Head of the Department is for a period of five years in terms of Sec. 10(5) of the Act, 2016. He submits that the transfer order is wholly illegal and unauthorized inasmuch as the place where the petitioner has been transferred is an under graduate college and suffers from malice in law as the status of the petitioner has been reduced and he has been demoted from a post graduate institution to an under graduate institution and posted against a post of Assistant Professor. It is stated that there is no sanctioned post of Professor, Agronomy, at Pandit Deendeyal Upadhayay College of Horticulture and Forestry, Pipra Kothi, East Champaran. Learned counsel took the Court to the sanctioned post available under the Act in order to show that in the college where the petitioner has been posted there is a recommendation of three posts of Professor, ten posts of Associate Professor and thirty posts of Assistant Professor, no post has been sanctioned. It is submitted that three years time of Head of the Department has not yet been completed and the petitioner has been transferred. It is further stated that by another order respondent no. 6 who is junior to the petitioner as he was promoted as Professor on 26/11/2007. His transfer is alleged to be illegal also on the ground that the petitioner is a getting research scholars and as also in the midst to a project on "Development of Zero Budget, Natural, Organic and intensive integrated farming system models to empower to rural youth through skill development". Learned counsel submits that the action has been taken on account of malice and biased approach of the Vice-Chancellor as against him who was to harass the petitioner. The respondent no. 4 has a personal enmity and he has harassed not only the petitioner but his son-in-law who has also been transferred by the Vice-Chancellor from Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi, to a Project at West Champaran and mere a vindictive approach is against him.