Kantharia, J. - (1.) The petitioner, S.M. Badve, was appointed as a Lecturer in Mathematics in the grade of Rs. 250-500 in the year 1960 in the K.J. Somaiya college of Arts and Science, Vidyavihar. Later, he was promoted and appointed as a Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics in the sale of Rs. 350-650 in the year 1963 and he worked in that capacity upto 1966. From 1.4.1966 to 1.8.1969 he worked as a Lecturer in the senior grade and from 1.8.1969 to 14.3.1977 as a Senior Lecturer in the grade of Rs. 400-800. He was placed in this grade pursuant to University of Bombay's (respondent No.3) Circular bearing No.Aff/Recog/42 of 1968. Asa Senior Lecturer he was placed in the grade of U700-1100 in the year 1969 after one year's post Graduate Teaching experience. It appears that the K.J. Somaiya College of Arts and Science was bifurcated in the year 1972 into two separate Colleges, viz., the K.J. Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, and the K.J. Somaiya College of Science. At that time, the petitioner was transferred to the K.J. Somaiya College of Science (respondent No.2) when the records of the staff of the K.J. Somaiya College of Science were examined with a view to streamline the College Service Records. It was noticed that there was a discrepancy in the educational qualifications of the petitioner in the Arts and Science College Card submitted by the petitioner in the year 1960. The discrepancy was that although the petitioner had passed B.Sc. Examination in the year 1950 in the pass class, he had submitted to the College that he had passed B.Sc. Examination in the year 1950 in the second class. The principal of the K.J. Somaiya College of Science brought this discrepancy to the notice of the University of Bombay (respondent No.3) vide his letter No. U- I -s/ 187/75, dated 17th May, 1975. The Principal stated that whereas the petitioner had confirmed that his correct qualifications were B.Sc. pass class, M.Sc. pass class (Pure Mathematics) and M.Sc. second class (Applied Mathematics), he had certified as per the record in the College that he held B.Sc. degree in second class. Pursuant to this letter from the Principal, the Executive Council of the University at its meeting held on 28th June, 1975 appointed a Committee to report on this letter. However, the said Committee did not meet and became defunct and, therefore, the Vice- Chancellor appointed another Committee to report on the case of the petitioner as regards the discrepancy in his educational qualifications. On the report of the Committee and on seeking legal advice, the University came to the conclusion that the petitioner had suppressed material facts as regards his educational qualifications at the time of seeking employment and resolved that the approval given by the University to the appointment of the petitioner as Lecturer in Mathematics and Professor of Mathematics in the College be withdrawn. The University accordingly informed the College by their letter No.Aff/Recog/2760 of 1977, dated March 2, 1977. Consequently, the Principal on behalf of the Governing Body of the K.J. Somaiya College of Science informed the petitioner by his letter dated 14th March, 1977 that his appointment in the College stood terminated with immediate effect. Thereafter, some correspondence ensued between the petitioner and the University and the College and as the petitioner felt aggrieved by his termination, he filed an appeal before the Presiding Officer, College Tribunal for Bombay and S.N.D.T. Women's University (respondent Nol. 1). Respondent No. I by his order dated 7th May, 1979. dismissed the said appeal holding that he was not satisfied that the petitioner's services were wrongly and unjustifiably terminated by the management, of the K.J. Somaiva College of Science, Vidyavihar. The petitioner has challenged the said order in this writ petition, inter alia praying that the termination of his services was bad in law and that lie be reinstated as a Lecturer with continuity of service and consequential benefits.
(2.) The petition has been vigorously resisted by in his work and behaviour. The punishment here was shockingly dis- proportionate to the charge levelled against the petitioner both, the College and the University. It is the case of the University that the petitioner had obtained employment in one of its affiliated Colleges by committing fraud, in the sense that he mis-stated facts as regards his educational qualifications and service experience and, therefore, he did not deserve to be continued either as a Lecturer or as a Professor. The contention of the College is that in terminating the services of the petitioner it acted on the advice of the University of Bombay to which it is affiliated.
(3.) A perusal of the record produced by the parties shows that the Personal Details which the petitioner supplied to the K.J. Somaiya College, as per Exhibit 'B', did misguide the College Authorities inasmuch as he had stated that he had passed B.Sc. from Poona University in the Second Class in the year 1950 with Mathematics and Physics as his subjects when, in fact, he had passed the said examination in pass class. As regards his previous experience, he again appears to have made an incorrect statement that he worked as a Lecturer from 1954 to 1958 in the D.G.Ruparel College. This was incorrect because upto the year 1957, when he passed his M.Sc. Examination from Bombay University with Mathematics (Applied) in Second Class, he could not have been appointed as a Lecturer as the minimum qualification for being appointed as a Lecturer was M.Sc. Second Class. To be fair to the petitioner, it may be mentioned here that in the D.G. Ruparel College he was working as Tutor but had worked as a Lecturer in Mathematics in temporary vacancies from time to time but that would not mean that he served the College in his capacity as a Lecturer. However, we are not concerned with the misstatements made by the petitioner with regard to his Personal Details in connection with his educational qualifications and work experience in D.G. Ruparel College because that was all prior to the year 1960. In fact, the petitioner was appointed as a Lecturer in the Somaiya College on 10th June, 1960, when he was qualified to be appointed as a Lecturer because in the year 1957 he had passed the M.Sc. Examination from Bombay University in Second Class with Mathematics (Applied) as his subject. His appointment as a Lecturer with effect from 10th June, 1960 in the Somaiya College was perfectly in accordance with the Rules and Regulations framed by the University in that behalf and, therefore, the decision of the University withdrawing the approval for the appointment of the petitioner as a Lecturer in Mathematics would not be proper. However, it appears that the College and the University were misled by the mis-statement made by the petitioner that he had passed B.Sc. Examination in Second Class in the year 1950 which misled the College to promote and appoint him as a Professor and the University to approve the same. It is pertinent to note here that for the appointment to the post of a Professor in the College of Science, the academic educational qualification should be Second Class M.Sc. with five years lead teaching experience in post-intermediate classes. In the year 1963, when the College reported his appointment as Professor in Mathematics to the University in the prescribed form, but at that time the petitioner was not Second Class B.Sc. he having passed his B.Sc. Examination in pass class in the year 1950 from Poona University Therefore, the petitioner was not entitled to the appointment as a Professor in Mathematic in the year 1963. The University, therefore, was right in withdrawing the approval to the appointment of the petitioner as a Professa Mathematics in the concerned College.;