Nainital, 9 Oct: The Uttarakhand High Court today directed the petitioner in a case pertaining to the retirement age of teachers at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology (GBPUAT) to submit a representation before the competent authority of the university, and instructed the university to take an appropriate decision on the matter within one week.
The case was heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Subhash Upadhyay on a petition filed by Mahendra Singh Negi. During the hearing, the petitioner contended that, according to the Act governing GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, the prescribed retirement age for teachers is 65 years. He claimed that the university has however been retiring some teachers at 60 years of age. Negi, who is presently serving at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Jolly Grant, under Pantnagar University, drew the Court’s attention to earlier rulings in similar cases, including those of Chandrashekhar Tiwari vs State Government and Mohammad Sarfaraz Khan, in which the High Court had delivered judgments in favour of the teachers.
Taking into account its own earlier decisions on the same issue, the High Court disposed of the present petition on identical terms. The Court directed Negi to file a fresh representation before the competent authority, incorporating all relevant aspects raised in the petition, within one week. The university has been instructed to consider and decide upon this representation within one week thereafter.
