Ashwani Kumar Mishra, J. - (1.) Petitioners in this bunch of writ petitions are aggrieved by the State action in stalling the process of appointment in all colleges affiliated to Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya (hereinafter referred to as 'Sanskrit University'), purportedly for the reason that existing procedure for appointment is proposed to be amended. The Government Order dated 10.10.2018, putting on hold the recruitment process, is thus challenged. The writ petitions in this bunch can broadly be segregated into following two categories:- i.Cases where recruitment is not being permitted to be initiated despite existence of vacancy in the colleges or where process has been initiated but the Vice Chancellor is either not providing subject experts for completing the recruitment process or is not granting approval to the selections made; ii.Cases where teachers have already been appointed after obtaining approval from the Vice Chancellor of Sanskrit University but the District Inspector of Schools is not releasing salary to them or payment of salary started in the recent past has been stopped.
(2.) Petitioners in both the aforesaid category are essentially aggrieved by the consequences flowing from the Government Order dated 10.10.2018. The Government Order recites that procedure for appointment of teachers in the colleges affiliated to Sanskrit University is proposed to be entrusted to an independent Commission and therefore the Vice Chancellor of Sanskrit University shall not grant approval to the appointment of teachers in Sanskrit University. This Government Order is the subject matter of challenge in the leading Writ Petition No.24208 of 2018 as also in many of the other connected writ petitions. According to the writ petitioners the action of the State in stalling the process of recruitment in all colleges affiliated to Sanskrit University, throughout the State, is not referable to any provision in the statute and is otherwise wholly arbitrary and illegal.
(3.) In order to effectively deal with the grievance raised in this bunch of writ petitions it would be necessary to refer to the statutory scheme regulating appointment of teachers in the colleges affiliated to Sanskrit University. Establishment of Sanskrit University traces its origin to The Sanskrit College at Varanasi during the British Rule in 1791. This college continued to be the focal point for dispensation of education in Sanskrit Grammar till it got succeeded by Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, a University established in 1958 as an institution of higher learning in the field of Sanskrit Education. The University established in 1958 continued to function till the enactment of U.P. State Universities Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act of 1973'). The Act of 1973 was made applicable upon the erstwhile Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya by a notification issued on 11.12.1974, under section 1(3) of the Act of 1973 whereafter the Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya was to be called as Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya. The provisions of the Act of 1973 were not made applicable in its entirety upon the Sanskrit University and the notification dated 11.12.1974 restricted applicability of the provisions of the Act of 1973 upon Sanskrit University with certain exceptions and modifications. It would be worth noticing that territory of the Sanskrit University was not limited to the State of Uttar Pradesh, as was the case in other State Universities regulated by the Act of 1973, but its territory extended throughout the Union of India.;