- (1.) This writ petition has been filed for a direction upon the respondents to redesignate the post of Research Assistants as post of Lecturer, to treat the petitioners as part-time Lecturers and to regularise the services of the petitioners as Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry of the University of Allahabad (hereinafter referred to as the 'University') in accordance with the provisions of Section 31(3)(c) of the U.P. State Universities Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') which was amended by U.P. Act No. 23 of 2004 w.e.f 20th May, 2004. A further direction has been sought for payment of full salary and all other benefits admissible to the post of Lecturer including arrears.
(2.) The petitioners claim to have been appointed as Research Assistants in the University w.e.f. 27th January, 1997 in the scale of Rs. 1400-2600 which was subsequently revised to Rs. 5,000 to 8000/-. It is on the basis of such working that the petitioners contend that they should be treated as part-time Lecturers and should be granted substantive appointment in terms of the provisions of Section 31(3)(c) of the Act which was amended in the year 2004 w.e.f. 20th May, 2004.
(3.) A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the University. It has been stated in the said counter affidavit that the petitioners had never been appointed as Lecturers/part time Lecturers in the Department and, therefore, the question of considering their cases for giving substantive appointment under the provisions of Section 31(3)(c) does not arise at all. It has further been stated that the petitioners had been merely appointed as Research Assistants in the Department of Chemistry in the pay scale of Rs. 1400-2600/- and that the post of Research Assistant is not a teaching category post and is not equivalent to that of a Lecturer. In fact, the pay scale is for Class III employees and the petitioners have been treated as Class III employees and that presently the University has become a Central University under the provisions of the University of Allahabad Act, 2005 which came into force w.e.f. 14th July, 2005 and, therefore, no benefit can be given to the petitioners.;