Kambli 1 wp8451.10 IN THE HIGH COURT JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.8451 OF 2010 ... Modern Education Society, through its Secretary and ors. ...Petitioners v/s. Director, Higher Education Pune Region ...Respondent ... Mr.Mihir Desai for the Petitioners. Mr.S.R.Nargolkar, Addl.GP for Respondents Nos. 1 to 3. ... CORAM: D.K.DESHMUKH & N.D.DESHPANDE,JJ. DATED: 20TH OCTOBER,2010 P.C.: 1. By this petition the Petitioner No. 1, which is a Education Society running a college affiliated to the Pune University, challenges the validity of Statute 424 (C) framed by the Pune University. The Kambli 2 wp8451.10 Petitioners also challenge the Resolution passed by the Grievance Committee and the Management Council of the Pune University directing the Petitioners to pay amount of encashment upto 180 days earned leave to the credit of the teachers, who were admittedly working with the Petitioners, and who have retired. 2. The Statute 424(C) was framed by the Pune University in 1987. That Statute reads as under: 424(C): Encashment of Unutilised Earned Leave on Superannuation: The teacher shall be entitled to encash earned leave in balance to his credit on the date of his superannuation subject to a maximum of 180 days. In case the teacher is required to serve till the end of academic session beyond the date of his superannuation, he shall be entitled to encash the balance of earned leave to his credit on the date of his actual retirement from service.” Kambli 3 wp8451.10 3. The Statute thus entitles a teacher to encash earned leave in balance to his credit on the date of his superannuation subject to maximum of 180 days. 4. The submission of the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioners was that the Statute is not valid because it has not been approved by the State Government. For that purpose he relied on the provisions of Section 51(8) of the Bombay Universities Act, 1994. The Maharashtra Universities Act has come into force in the year 1994. But the Statute 424 (C) was framed in the year 1987, when the Universities Act, 1974 was in force. Sections 37 and 38 deal with the subject on which Statute can be framed by the Universities and the manner in which the Statute is to be framed. Perusal of Sections 37 and 38 shows that no approval from the Kambli 4 wp8451.10 Government was required by the University for framing a Statute at any stage. What was contemplated by that Act was assent of the Chancellor before that Statute comes into force. It is nobody’s case before us that, the assent contemplated under Section 38 of the Pune Universities Act was not obtained for the Statute 424(C). Thus, we do not find any substance in the submission that the Statute 424(C) is invalid for any reason. Then, it was submitted that by an order made on 1-2-2009 by the Vice-Chancellor of the Pune Universities, the Statute 424(C) is repealed with effect from 1-2-2009, and therefore, teachers cannot claim encashment of earned leave in terms of provisions of Statute 424(C). As Statute 424(C) has been repealed with effect from 1-2-2009 and as there is no provision made in the order itself, provision of Section 6 of the Bombay Kambli 5 wp8451.10 General Clauses Act would come into play. Perusal of Section 6 shows that when an enactment is repealed then unless a different intention appears, the repeal shall not affect the effect of previous operation of any enactment so repealed. Therefore, if a teacher has served the college or University before 1-2-2009 and has become entitled to any rights because of Statute 424(C), then those rights do not get defeated by the repeal. What is further to be noted is that, even that order repealing the Statute 424(C) has been cancelled or withdrawn by the Vice- Chancellor by another order dated 24-4-2009. 5. It was also submitted that the teachers have approached the Grievance Committee of the Universities after a long time after they retired and therefore, according to the Petitioners, the Grievance Kambli 6 wp8451.10 Committee could not have passed the Resolution directing encahsment of the earned leave in terms of Statute 424(C). 6. The Grievance Committee is constituted under Section 57 of the Maharashtra Universities Act. The purpose of constitution of the Grievance Committee is to deal with the grievances of the teachers and other employees of the Universities and other affiliated colleges and settle those grievances. All grievances of the teachers and non-teaching staff of the affiliated colleges which not within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal constituted under the Act are within the jurisdiction of the Grievance Committee. The section itself does not lay down any period of limitation for approaching the Grievance Committee. It is further pertinent to note that the Statute 424(C) Kambli 7 wp8451.10 entitles a teacher on the date of his retirement to encash the earned leave. For that purpose he is not required to make any application. It is for the college on the date of retirement of the teacher to find out, if there is any earned leave to his credit and if that is so, it is for the college to permit encashment of that leave, subject to maximum of 180 days. Therefore, the rights get created on the date on which retirement takes place and the amount of encashment will lie in the hand of the Management as the trustee of the teacher, and therefore, it will have to be tendered to the teacher by the Management whenever there is a demand and no law of limitation will apply. In our opinion, it does not lie in the mouth of the Petitioners to say that the teacher who has served them for such a long time is not entitled to something, which law gives Kambli 8 wp8451.10 him, because of lapse of time. 7. Taking overall view of the matter, therefore, in our opinion, petition is misconceived, misdirected and therefore is liable to be rejected. It is accordingly rejected. (D.K.Deshmukh,J.) (N.D.Deshpande, J.)