- (1.) VINEET Saran, J. The writ petitioners (Respondents No. 1 to 27 herein) are all employees of hostel wing of William Holland University College of appellant University and have been working there since long, on payment of fixed monthly salary. Besides its hostel Wing, the William Holland University College had a tutorial wing, which is stated to have been closed down long back. The claim of the writ petitioners is that they should be paid the same salary as is being paid by the Allahabad University since 1996 to their counterpart employees in the hostel wing of Madan Mohan Malviya University College (known as and hereinafter referred to as the Hindu Hostel ). With regard to such grievance the writ petitioners had filed several representations to the University as well as the State Government, pursuant to which the State Government rejected their claim vide order dated 27. 6. 2002. The writ petitioners thus filed writ petition No. 15395 of 2002 challenging the order dated 27. 6. 2002 of the State Government and also prayed that they should be paid the similar salary as was being paid to their counterparts employed in the Hindu Hostel.
(2.) THE writ petition was allowed by learned Single Judge vide Judgment and Order dated 29. 11. 2005 and after quashing the order dated 27. 6. 2002 of the State Government, a direction was issued for payment of same wages to the writ peti tioners as are being paid to the employees of the Hindu Hostel. Aggrieved by the said order this Special Appeal has been filed by the University of Allahabad. We have heard Sri Ratnakar Bharti, learned Counsel for the appellant as well as Sri Shashi Nandan, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri S. K. Pandey on behalf of respondents-writ petitioners. The case of the appellant-University is that the University does not have any liability for payment of salary to the employees of the hostel wing of William Holland University College, which is run and managed by a private Trust and the University has no control over management of such hostel or its employees. It has also been submitted that the petitioners cannot be equated with the employ ees of the Hindu Hostel, as in the latter case the management of the hostel had been taken over by the State Government and the State Government had, in the year 1996, also taken over the responsibility to make payment of salary to such employees of the Hindu Hostel for certain period. It has also been urged that the University does not collect hostel fees from the inmates of the William Holland University College hostel nor is it involved in the running and management of the hostel, inasmuch as there are no posts which have been sanctioned by the Uni versity for such hostel wing of William Holland University College.
(3.) ON the other hand the respondents-writ petitioners claim that there is no difference between the hostel wing and the tutorial wing of William Holland Univer sity College and the appellant-University is illegally denying the benefit of pay ment of salary to the hostel wing employees, to which they are entitled. It has also been contended on behalf of the respondents-writ petitioners that they are similarly situated as the employees of Hindu Hostel and since such employees of Hindu Hostel are being paid salary by the University, they should also be given similar benefit and be paid same salary by the University. Their petition was allowed by the learned Single Judge. Hence this appeal. Under the U. P. State Universities Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), a 'hall (or college) of a University' and 'hostel of a University' have been defined under Section 2 (10) and (11) of the Act which read as under: "2 (10): 'hall (or college) of a University' means a unit of residence for students maintained or recognised by the University at which provision is made for imparting tutorial and other supplementary instructions: (11): 'hostel of a University' means a unit of residence for students main tained or recognised by the University, other than a hall, and 'hostel of an affiliated or associated college' means a unit of residence for students of that college;";