Mohammad Rafiq, J. - (1.) ALL these writ petitions have been filed by the petitioners who were appointed as Lecturers/Teachers in different subjects under the scheme Teacher Research Fellowship, as substitute in place of regularly recruited Lecturers/Teachers. They were appointed as substitute in the vacancies caused by regularly recruited Lecturers/Teachers proceeding to undertake research work or for doing M. Phil or Ph.D. under "Teacher Return Fellowship" (for short, 'the TRF') sponsored to them by University Grants Commission (for short, 'the UGC'). Learned counsel for the petitioners argued that even when Lecturers/Teachers, in whose temporary vacancies petitioners are appointed as substitute, continue to pursue their research work under the TRF, the respondent State has not been making payment to them for full duration of their fellowship. The respondent -State has been deducting the salary payable to the petitioners for the period of summer vacations, i.e. when the colleges close on completion of academic session for summer break and reopen at the commencement of another academic session.
(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners invited attention of the Court towards Clause 6.4 of the Guidelines for the Special Scheme of Faculty Development Programme for Colleges for the XI Plan (2007 -2012) and contended that according to aforesaid scheme the UGC makes provisions for payment of minimum scale of pay to the Substitute Lecturers/Teachers, therefore there is no reason for not making such payment to the petitioners. Action of the respondents is highly arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. It is contended that the respondents have been illegally insisting upon the petitioners at the time of their appointment and also at the time when they are seeking extension of appointment for the next academic sessions to furnish undertaking to the effect that they shall not claim salary for vacations and this is made condition precedent for their rejoining at the commencement of new academic session. Such a practice is wholly illegal and arbitrary.
(3.) LEARNED counsel for petitioners relied on judgments of this Court in Dr. Abha Singh vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors., S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5221/2009, decided vide judgment dt. 22.05.2009, and Mukesh Kumar Sharma & Ors. vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors., Writ Petition No. 2524/2009 decided on 22.05.2009, and argued that this Court in aforesaid matters have already held the termination of contract of Substitute Lecturers/Teachers during continuation of vacancies, as arbitrary and illegal. The Division Bench upheld the same view. This practice of the respondents tantamount to violation of provisions of Art. 14 of the Constitution. According to UGC guidelines, the Substitute Lecturers/Teachers have to be continued for full duration of research Fellowship. Reliance is placed on a division bench judgment of this Court in Satish Sharma & Ors. vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors., Special Appeal (Writ) No. 569/2011 decided vide judgment dt. 25.07.2011, in which it was held that temporary Lecturers/Teachers cannot be deprived of salary of the vacations and should be deemed to have continued throughout.;