Retirement benefits restored to assistant professor

Madras High Court held that such insensitive, wooden approach by the govt is rather deplorable and cannot be countenanced both in law and on facts.

Holding that there is no iota of justification on the part of the government for not having granted due relaxation of her educational qualification even assuming that she was not qualified in terms of the statutory regulation, Justice V Parthiban said “Quite often the High Court is confronted with situations where justice and law do not come to terms and such situations may impose judicial dilemma on the institution. Such dicey situation is to be surmounted by this institution by ultimately adopting a justice-oriented approach in order to reach out and uphold the fundamental rights of the citizen.”

The petitioner Dr Annie D Ambrose alias J Rukmani had obtained her basic degree in B.Sc., Zoology during 1974 and thereafter obtained M.Sc., in Human Genetics and Anthropology from Andhra University during 1976, with Zoology as an ancillary subject. Thereafter, she obtained M.Phil., degree in Zoology from Madras University during 1978. Subsequently, she had also obtained Doctorate in Zoology. 

She was recruited as assistant professor, Zoology on March 9, 1981 and while continuing in service her PG degree was subjected to verification and the Madras University after verification issued a non-equivalence certificate stating that M.Sc. degree in Human Genetics and Anthropology with Zoology as ancillary subject is not equivalent to M.Sc., Zoology. Based on this, she was discharged from the service through a Government Order. 

She got an interim order for continuing in service through Tamil Nadu State Administrative Tribunal and as the tribunal was abolished the case was transferred to the High Court. A single judge dismissed her petition saying that the statutory rules of appointment only prevail.