G. S. Lal, J. - (1.) THIS writ petition relates to a matter requiring the inter pretation of the Allahabad University Act and the Statutes thereunder. The facts leading to the filing of this writ petition are briefly given below.
(2.) BEFORE the amendment of the Allahabad University Act. 1921 in 1961 by means of the U. P. Universities Act, 1961 (Act No. 13 of 1961), the University was providing the teaching necessary for admission to its various degrees. It had also recognized certain institutions as authorised to provide such teaching. These were privately run colleges and were known under the Act as 'associated col leges'. The State Government intended to start and run an engineering college and a medical college at Allahabad and to secure to the students there of degrees in engineering and medi cine of the Allahabad University. The Allahabad University Act (hereinafter re ferred to as 'the Act') was therefore am ended by the amending Act of 1961 afore said to make all necessary provision in this connection and a new class of institu tions known as "Constituent Colleges" was introduced in the Act. According to the newly introduced clause (aaa) in Sec tion 2, "Constituent College" means an institution maintained by the University or by the State Government and autho rised to conduct all the teaching neces sary for admission to a degree of the University. After the amendment of the Act in 1961 and in pursuance of the ob ject of the amendment, the Faculties of Medicine and Engineering were added to the Faculties of the University in statute No. 75 framed in pursuance of Section 24 of the Act which provides that the Uni versity shall include such Faculties as may be prescribed by the Statutes. Statute No. 80 lays down the Departments comprised in the various Faculties. In the Faculty of Medicine 15 departments are shown in clause (e) of Statute 80 and these include, at serial No. 11. the Depart ment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Sec tion 36-A of the Act provides for Asso ciated Colleges of the University being named by the Statutes. Section 36-AA newly added in the Act in 1961, provides for Constituent Colleges of the University being named by the Statutes. Statute 145-A framed in pursuance of S. 36-AA named only Moti Lal Nehru Medical Col lege as a Constituent College. It is not in controversy that it is a Constituent College maintained by the State Govern ment and not by the University. In the list of Associated Colleges named by Statute No. 146 the Motilal Nehru College of Engineering Allahabad was added. Thus this College, started by the State Gov ernment, was made only an Associated College. There was running at Allaha bad the Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital maintained and managed by a Society known as Kamla Nehru Memorial Trust. It was already receiving a recurring grant in aid amounting to Rs. 1,05,000/- per annum from the State Government. Its Superintendent was Dr. Mrs. Vatsala Samant who is opposite party No. 2 in the writ petition. For providing teaching in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology a female hospital was need ed. The State Government made an ar rangement with the Kamla Nehru Memo rial Trust. The said arrangement is to be found embodied in Annexure A to the representation made by Dr. Mrs. Samant to the Chancellor, Allahabad University, under Section 42 of the Act. A copy of the representation is Annexure 1 to the writ petition. Annexure A to Annexure 1 shows that with effect from February 1, 1964. 75 general beds out of the then existing beds of the K. N. M. Hospital were to be utilised for teaching the sub ject of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to the students of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College. They were to be maintained out of Government grant. For that purpose the State Government sanctioned a fur ther recurring grant-in-aid amounting to Rs. 25.000/- for a period of two months only in the first instance, that is to say, for February and March, 1964. A fur ther grant of Rs. 920/- (recurring) was sanctioned for the said two months. This was for payment of honorarium to Dr. Samant at Rs. 250/- per month and to her Assistant Doctor at Rs. ISO/- per month for two months and Rs. 120/- for the in stallation of a telephone. A non-recur ring grant of Rs. 1,96,600/- was also made to provide for a large size lift, residential quarters, etc. It was pro vided that the administration of the aforesaid 75 beds would continue to be vested in the Trust. Those 75 beds would be divided into two units. One unit would be put in the charge of the Medi cal Superintendent of the K. N. M. Hospi tal who would be assisted in that work by her assistant doctor and the other unit would be under the charge of the whole-time Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaeco logy appointed by the State Government who would be assisted by a Reader or a Lecturer. It was further provided that the then existing Superintendent of the K. N. M. Hospital, Dr. Vatsala Samant, would be designated as 'Honorary Pro fessor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology' and her as sistant doctor as 'Honorary Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology' and they would be paid an honorarium of Rs. 250/-per month and Rs. 100/- per month res pectively from the grant-in-aid to be given to the K. N. M. Trust. The hospi tal would remain under the overall charge of the Medical Superintendent as before but in her absence the whole-time Pro fessor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Moti Lal Nehru Medical College would act as Medical Superintendent. Actually no whole-time Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology was appointed in the Moti Lal Nehru Medical College before March, 1968. It was only in March. 1968 that the petitioner Dr. (Miss) Meena Mukerji was appointed as the whole-time Pro fessor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the said College.
(3.) SUB -section (6) of S. 24 of the Act provides that there shall be a Head in each Department of teaching who shall be responsible to the Dean for the organi sation of the teaching in the Department. Dr. Samant being the only Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, she acted as the Head of the Department for all purposes under the Act and the Statutes. As to the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine it was provid ed by Statute 23-A that the office of the Dean in the Faculty of Medicine shall be held ex-officio by the Principal of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College and in the absence of the Principal, the senior-most Professor of the College would act as the Dean. Dr. Samant continued to act as Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology after the petitioner joined as Professor in that Department. Dr. Samant got from the K. N. M. Trust an extension in service in the year 1967-68 to continue beyond the age of 58 years. The Trust granted her yet another exten sion beyond the age of 60 years in Janu ary. 1970. The petitioner who, according to paragraph 13 of the writ petition, had put up with the unsatisfactory position of Dr. Samant continuing to act as Head of the Department even after the peti tioner had joined as whole-time Profes sor in the Department, in the hope that "the deprivation of her lawful rights to be the Head of the Department was short ly going to end", made a representa tion to the Vice-Chancellor of the Allaha bad University when the second exten sion was granted to Dr. Samant by the K. N. M. Trust. The representation was to the effect that she should be designat ed as Head of the Department, being a whole-time Professor in the subject. A copy of the representation is Annexure B to Annexure 1 (the representation of Dr. (Mrs.) Samant to the Chancellor). The representation was forwarded by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (that is to say. the Principal of Moti Lal Nehru Medical College) to the Vice-Chancellor in January. 1970. the forwarding letter being Annexure C to Annexure 1. On the representation being placed before the Executive Council of the University, the Executive Council passed on 27-2-1970 a resolution in the following words:- "Resolved that a senior most whole-time teacher of a Department in a con stituent college shall be considered the Head of the Department". In pursuance of the said resolution the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine inform ed Dr. (Mrs.) Samant that in view of the resolution passed by the University the petitioner would be considered Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for the purposes of Uni versity work, she being the senior most whole-time teacher of that Department.;