- (1.) Seven teachers of Multanimal Modi Degree College, Modinagar, district Ghaziabad (the College), which is a Government aided College and governed by the provisions of the U.P. State Universities Act, 1973 and the First Statutes of the Chaudhary Charan Singh University Meerut, have filed this petition for a relief that the Principal of the College should be restrained from forcing them to sign the attendance register also at the time of departure from the College thereby requiring the petitioners to remain in the College for the entire six hours duration. It is submitted by Sri Somesh Khare, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners that in terms of the Government Orders dated 26.5.1984 and 11.2.1988, the Principal of the College is required to maintain only one attendance register for all the teachers but in July 2012, the Principal issued directions that there should be an attendance register for each department and teachers should sign the attendance register not only when they report in the morning but also at the time when they leave the College. Such a direction was issued by the Principal of the College by publishing a notice on 9.8.2014. The said notice also mentions that if a teacher signs the attendance register in the morning session but does not sign it at the time when he leaves the College, then that teacher would be marked absent for half day. This notice was followed by another notice dated 22.8.2014 informing the teachers that the attendance register would be made available in the morning from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again in the evening from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and that all the teachers should sign the attendance register during the morning hours and during the evening hours. It is the submission of learned Counsel for the petitioner that the Principal of the College cannot mark the teachers as present only for half day even if teachers do not sign the attendance register in the evening.
(2.) Learned Standing Counsel appears for respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Ms. Neha Singh, has made submissions on behalf of the Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut (the University) while Sri R.A. Akhtar has made submissions on behalf of the University Grants Commission.
(3.) It is the submission of Ms. Neha Singh, learned Counsel appearing for the respondent-University that the Principal of the College committed no illegality in directing all the teachers of the College to remain present in the College during the entire working hours of the College and so if a teacher marks the attendance only in the morning session and does not do so in the second session, such a teacher should be considered to be present only for half day.;