Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 13: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) dismissed the plea of an Associate Professor (Nursing) appointed as per Indian Nursing Council (INC) and seeking her retirement under University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations.
The CAT bench comprising Ritu Tagor and Prasant Kumar ruled that an employee appointed as per the eligibility criteria prescribed by the INC, cannot claim retirement in keeping with UGC Regulations.
The Bench said that the age of retirement is a matter left to the policy decision of the Government and dismissed of an Associate Professor (Nursing) in Alamdar Memorial College of Nursing and Medical Technology, Budgam which is a constituent college under the Islamic University of Science and Technology ( IUAST), Awantipora.
The applicant projected that she was being retired at the age of 60 years and not at the age of 62 years or 65 years as prescribed in UGC Regulations as her past service in SKIMS was already counted in the IUST service. Her further contention was that since all the Universities, including the IUST, follow the age of retirement as 62 years for Professors and APs, she could not be singled out as she also held the post of Associate Professor.
The IUST counsel however opposed her contentions and submitted before the bench that the retirement age of 65 years is applicable only to the University faculty whereas the petitioner-applicant is serving in a constituent Nursing College, governed by a different regulatory framework applicable to the Government Nursing Colleges across J&K.
The CAT after these contentions as advanced by the IUST counsel recorded that that the fixing of age of retirement falls within the domain of the State or UT. Moreover, the petitioner had not placed any document pertaining to the adoption of the UGC Regulation by the erstwhile state Government or the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Therefore, the prayer of the petitioner for differential application of UGC Regulations on her, i.e. appointment as per the eligibility criteria prescribed by the Indian Nursing Council and retirement as per UGC Regulations, cannot be sup-ported”, read the judgment.
Moreover, the bench said, that in the Statutes of the IUST, it is provided that the teachers in the permanent whole-time service of the university shall retire on superannuation on completing the age of 65 years, subject to the ascent of the Chancellor.
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