WOMEN S EDUCATION SOCIETY NAGPUR Vs. NAGPUR UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is filed by the Public Trust duly registered as such under the provisions of Bombay Public Trust Act as Petitioner no.1 and Petitioner no.2 a duly recognised College run by it. The College is affiliated to Nagpur University i.e. Respondent no.1 and challenge in the Writ Petition is to communication dated 23.04.2003, by which the Assistant Registrar of the Respondent no.1 Nagpur University has communicated to the Petitioner no.2 that its advertisement providing for reservation of all posts for lady candidates is not valid and therefore, the College can at the most stipulate that preference would be given to lady candidates. The Assistant Registrar has communicated that the College therefore should issue fresh advertisement or appropriate corrigendum. The communication states that it is issued as directed by the Vice Chancellor of Nagpur University. It is not in dispute that affairs of Petitioner no. 2 College and of Respondent no. 1 are governed by the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994; hereinafter referred to as Universities Act.

(2.) It is not in dispute that the Petitioner no.1 is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act and a Public Trust under the Bombay Public Trust Act established for the purpose of fostering higher education for women in State of Maharashtra by maintaining Colleges. The Petitioner no.2 College is affiliated to the Respondent no.1 Nagpur University and it is getting grants from the Government for payment of salary to its teaching and non teaching staff. The Petitioner no.2 College imparts education only to female students and is only a women College. It is the stand of the Petitioners that initially some male candidates were appointed for teaching purposes when female candidates were either not found suitable or not duly qualified for certain subjects. The Petitioners state that for last more than one decade they have not appointed a single male candidate in teaching department. It is stated that though rarely and in exceptional circumstances male candidates were appointed, the Petitioners realized that it was not feasible and proper to appoint male candidates in teaching department when the College was imparting education only to girls and women. It is stated that looking to the object of Petitioners to educate women and to make them self-sufficient, the Petitioners felt it appropriate to appoint female candidates only for teaching as also non teaching purposes and this has become possible because women have by now specialised in all most all the fields and subjects.

(3.) The Petitioners state that on 1.3.1999 interviews were held for post of Lecturer in department of Architecture, for which 3 candidates had applied. Two candidates were female while one was male, and the Education committee unanimously selected a lady by name Mrs. Vaishali R. Pedram for V.J./N.T. Category. For S.C. Category post, another lady i.e. Ms. A. Meshram was unanimously selected. However, the unanimous selection was by nominee of Chairman, Local Managing Committee, Principal of College and Head of Department. The subject expert and nominee of Vice Chancellor sent by Respondent no.1 gave their dissenting note and recorded that even male candidates were made to apply and male candidate Shri Shambharkar was more suitable.