SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR,J. - (1.) The petitioner has approached this Court with the following prayers : A. To treat the petitioner as a teacher in Vinoba Bhawe University, Hazaribagh; B. To provide the petitioner all the benefits regarding the salary, age and retiral benefits which are given to the University teachers of the University; C. To consider case of the petitioner for his superannuation on attaining the age at par with the others, i.e., on attaining the age of 65 years at which the other teachers/Lecturers of the University are superannuated; and D. Pending final hearing of the instant writ-petition, the respondents be directed to make the petitioner retire on attaining the age of 60 years as he is entitled for services up to the age of 65 years as he is teacher of the University who are to retire at the age of 65 years.
(2.) At the outset, Mr. Mithilesh Singh, the learned counsel for the respondent-University raising a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the writ-petition, submits that fixation of age of superannuation is a policy matter which falls exclusively within the domain of the executive and the legislature. The learned counsel for the respondent University submits that prayer for enhancement of age from 60 to 62 years by some of the employees under Baidyanath Kamal Kumari Sanskrit College, Deoghar has already been declined by a coordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.(S) No. 549 of 2010 with W.P.(S) No. 7491 of 2012.
(3.) It is stated that the petitioner was appointed on 01.04.1975 in Baidyanath Kamal Kumari Sanskrit College, Deoghar as assistant teacher and he would have attained the age of 60 years on 31.01.2015. Claiming benefit under Notification dated 26.12.2012, the petitioner seeks a direction for grant of pensionary benefits. By filing a supplementary counter-affidavit, the respondent-University has taken the following stand: "3. That at the outset it is most respectfully submitted that the petitioner is the employee of the respondent University and thus there are no Government orders and payment orders which would establish that the petitioner is an employee of the Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh. 4. That it is pertinent to state here that prior to creation of Jharkhand Public Service Commission the lecturers in the University and Constituent Colleges used to be appointed on the recommendation of Bihar State University (Constituent College) Service Commission. However, there is nothing on record to show that the petitioner was ever appointed as lecturer on the recommendation of Bihar State University(Constituent College) Service Commission. 5. That bare perusal of Annexure-1 to the Writ petition shows that the petitioner was initially appointed as 'Assistant Teacher' at Baidyanath Kamal Kumari Sanskrit School, Baidyanathdham, Santhal Pargana. That subsequently the school of the petitioner was upgraded to Inter College. That after being upgraded as Inter College by State of Bihar in the year 1980 the status of the Baidyanath Kamal Kumari Sanskrit Upshastri College, Deoghar has remained the same and thus it is still and Inter College and a Degree college. Thus the teaching and non teaching employees of an Inter College including the petitioner cannot equate themselves with teaching and non teaching employees of University as the college in question does fall within the definition of 'College' as provided in Section 2(f) of the Jharkhand State University Act, 2000 (Adapted). 6. That the fact that the college of the petitioner is an affiliated college is further evident from the list bearing the signature of the Registrar, Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Darbhanga, Bihar. Bare perusal of the list shows that the college of the petitioner, i.e., Baidyanath Kamal Kumari Sanskrit Inter College, Deoghar is an aided affiliated College.";