- (1.) THE present set of writ petitions involving common question is being disposed of by a common order. The facts are illustratively taken from the case of Hansraj and Mandeep Kaur.
(2.) THE respondent Shaheed Bhagat Singh PG College, Raisinghnagar and Meera Girls College, Sangaria were taken over by the State Government in the year 2013 along with all its movable and immovable assets vide order 30.07.2013, copy of which is placed on record as Annex.4. The Rules applicable for such takeover of the private educational institutions framed by the State Government are known as Rajasthan Civil Services (Appointment and Other Service Conditions of employees of Private Institutions and other Establishments taken over by the Government) Rules, 1977. Rule 5 of the said Rules of 1977 which is relevant for the present controversy is quoted below for ready reference: "5. Taking over the private Institutions. -(1) In case the Government decides to take over a Private Institution along with its staff in public interest, it shall decide the equation of posts in such Institution and those existing under the Government and such of the staff as are willing to be absorbed in Government service who are serving or hold a lien in that Institution and subject to the availability of posts and vacancies in the Service they may be appointed on an equated or lower post as may be decided after being screened by a Committee which will be the same as the Departmental Promotion Committee constituted in the respective Service Rules for the post of concerned or if there is no such Committee, such Committee as may be appointed by the Government subject to the following conditions - (i) the employee of such Institution, who is a candidate for absorption in the Service, possesses the minimum qualifications as laid down in the Rules/Schedule for the post for which he is a candidate or possessed such qualifications as were prescribed by the Government for recruitment to corresponding posts when he was initially appointed to such posts; (ii) the candidate is not less than 21 years of age and more than the normal age of superannuation prescribed for such post by the Government on the date the Private Institution is taken over by the Government; (iii) the employee is physically fit and does not suffer from any of the disqualifications for recruitment contained in these Rules or in the respective Service Rules for the post concerned: Provided that after being taken over by Government, the number of candidates serving in Private Institution so selected for entry into Service, shall not be more than the number of posts sanctioned for that Private Institution by the competent authority unless the Government decides otherwise. (2) The person so selected shall be considered as fresh recruits to Government Service and the quota of a recruitment in the relevant service, if any, shall be determined after -absorbing such persons and they shall be appointed in the same capacity as in the Private Institution i.e. temporary, officiating, substantive, as the case may be, and the condition of probation and confirmation shall be deemed to have been waived in case of substantive or permanent officials. (3) The seniority of the persons selected as a result of taking over of Private Institution, shall be determined with reference to the year of taking over of such employees and they shall rank enblock junior to persons appointed by directed recruitment or by promotion if the post is required to be filled in by promotion only in the relevant category during the year of their appointment. The inter se seniority of such appointment in the same grade under such management/agency; provided that any pre - determined seniority shall not be disturbed. The service rendered by the employees of the Private Institution on an equated post shall be counted as experience or service required for promotion or direct recruitment as the case may be." The present petitioners were appointed as Lecturers or teachers in the said respondent private colleges in the recent past only and that too on contractual basis and while some of them possessed the requisite qualifications as prescribed by the State Government, some did not. The grievance raised in the present case is that the Administrator appointed by the State Government for these private colleges suddenly discharged them from their service by the impugned order Annex.5 dtd.28.2.2014 just when the academic session ended on 28.2.2014.
(3.) THE writ petitioners, therefore approached this Court by way of present writ petitions with the prayer for the quashing of the impugned orders and for allowing the present petitioners to work till the regularly selected persons were made available by the State Government to teach the students in these private educational institutions in the next session commencing from July 2014 or in the alternative their services may be absorbed under the Rules of 1977.;