Calcutta HC: University Cannot Withdraw Study Leave Granted To Teachers Due To Disciplinary Proceeding

Case: Shri Rajesh KV Alias Rajesh Kaleerakath Venugopal v. Visva-Bharati and others

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that universities governed by the University Grants Commission Regulations, 2018 (UGC Regulations) cannot withdraw study leave granted to teachers due to disciplinary proceedings. Justice Kaushik Chanda reached this conclusion based on clause 8.2 (xiii) of the UGC Regulations, which specify the circumstances under which study leave benefits should be refunded to the university. The clause does not mention disciplinary proceedings as a ground for the refund of leave salary, but it does state that a teacher who is dismissed or removed from service must refund leave salary and other expenses incurred during their leave. The Court also noted that this clause governs how a suspended employee's leave application should be handled.

In response to a petition filed by an assistant professor at Visva-Bharati University, challenging the university's rejection of his request for study leave, the judge issued a ruling. The petitioner had applied for study leave twice, after receiving a senior fellowship in theatre from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, for two years. However, in May 2022, the university denied his application, claiming that he was not entitled to leave because he was a suspended employee. In 2021, the petitioner was the subject of disciplinary proceedings based on a charge sheet, which resulted in his suspension.

The Court observed that the petitioner had submitted his initial application for study leave before the suspension order was issued. Additionally, the suspension order and the charge sheet that led to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings were subsequently overturned by another bench of the Calcutta High Court in March 2022. Although the university appealed this decision, the suspension order remained quashed as of now. As a result, Justice Chanda remarked that the petitioner was not currently under suspension in the eyes of the law.

The Court dismissed the university's argument that the UGC Regulations did not apply to Visva Bharati University, stating that the petitioner's appointment letter explicitly referred to the UGC's directives. As a result, the Court ruled in favor of the petitioner, directing the university to approve his study leave request within seven days of the judgment.