1 2025:CGHC:572-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WA No. 882 of 2024 1 - Sunil Kumar Patel S/o Budhu Ram Aged About 31 Years Occupation Guest Lecture (Zoology), Govt. E.V. P.G. College, Korba, District Korba Chhattisgarh 2 - Smt. Asha Azad W/o Mulchandra Azad Aged About 45 Years Occupation Guest Lecture (Geology), Govt. E.V. P.G. College, Korba, District Korba Chhattisgarh --- Appellants versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through Its Secretary Higher Education Department, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Raipur Chhattisgarh 2 - Additional Director Directorate of Higher Education Department, Atal Nagar Naya Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh 3 - Principal Govt. E.V. P.G. College, Korba, District Korba Chhattisgarh ... Respondents (Cause-title taken from Case Information System) For Appellants : Mr. Danish Ahmad Siddiqui Advocate For Respondents-State : Mr. Yashwant Singh Thakur, Additional Advocate General Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon’ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge Judgment on Board Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice 06.01.2025 1. Heard Mr. Danish Ahmad Siddiqui, learned counsel for the appellants as well as Mr. Yashwant Singh Thakur, learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the State/respondents. ANURADHA TIWARI Digitally signed by ANURADHA TIWARI Date: 2025.01.06 18:27:41 +0530 2 2. The appellants/writ petitioners have prayed for the following relief(s) in this appeal : “(I) That, the Hon'ble Court may Kindly set- aside the impugned order Dated 03.09.2024 (Annexure-A/1) passed by the Hon'ble Single Judge in WP(S) No.4212/2024 (Sunil Kumar Patel and Ors. vs. State of C.G. & Ors.); (II) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to call for the entire records in relates to the case of the appellants from the possession of respondents for its kind perusal. (III) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to set aside the impugned advertisement dated 15.07.2024 issued by the respondent no.3 in the subject relates to the appellants and further be pleased to direct the respondents State to allow the appellants to perform the duties as Guest Lecturers/Assistant Professor/Professor at Govt. E.V. P.G. College, Korba, District Korba (C.G.) till the selection of regular Assistant Professor/ Professor. (IV) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other relief/reliefs in favour of the appellants, which the Hon'ble Court deemed fit & just in the facts and circumstances of the case, including awarding of the costs to the petitioner.” 3 3. The facts in brief, as projected by the appellant/swrit petitioner is that the appellants have filed a writ petition before the learned Single Judge seeking a direction to the respondents that the serving guest lecturer should not be replaced by another guest lecturer. The writ petition filed by the appellants vide WPS No.4212/2024 {Sunil Kumar Patel and others v. State of Chhattisgarh & Others} was disposed of vide order dated 03.09.2024 with a direction that unless there is any complaint received against the performance of the appellants, the respondents are restrained from going in for any fresh recruitment of a Guest Lecturer for the said subject under the respondent No.3-College against which the appellants were engaged. It was, however, made clear that the protection to the appellants would be only to the extent of not being replaced by another set of Guest Lecturers. This did not not preclude the State Government from going in for filling up of the post by way of a regular appointment or by way of engaging contractual teachers under the rules for contractual employment. In compliance of aforesaid order, the respondent authority did not issue fresh advertisement for the academic session and allowed the appellants to work as guest lecturer and the appellants has worked till academic session 2023-2024. 4. On 20.06.2024, the State Government has also framed a policy namely Guest Lecturer Policy-2024 for recruitment and appointment of guest lecturers for academic session 2024-25 and the clause 13.2 of the said policy provides that the provisions of this policy will not be 4 applicable to guest lecturers for whom stay orders have been passed by the Hon’ble High Court in the past. 5. Mr. Danish Ahmad Siddiqui, learned counsel for the appellants/writ petitioner submits that in earlier round of litigation, this Hon'ble Court had granted stay/protection to the appellants that she should not replaced by another set of guest lecturer and the policy making authority has also considered the same and in policy protection has been granted to those guest lecturer who have got stay/protection order from this Hon'ble Court. By-passing the order passed by this Hon'ble Court in earlier round of litigation and clause 13.2 of Guest Lecturer Policy-2024, the Principal, Government Dr. Radhabai Naveen Girls College, District Raipur has issued an advertisement vide dated 15.07.2024 for recruitment and appointment to the various posts of Guest Lecturers including the post of appellants i.e. guest lecturer Political Science subject. It is further submitted that vide letter dated 12.07.2024 sent by the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Government of Chhattisgarh, to the Principal of all the Government Colleges of Chhattisgarh clarifying the order passed by this Hon'ble Court, wherein it is mentioned that the Hon'ble High Court vide order dated 26.06.2024 passed in WPS No.5232/2023 {Shrishti Lakra v. State of Chhattisgarh & Others alongwith other connected matters} has vacated the stay order passed in earlier petitions, therefore those posts are to be considered as vacant posts and are to be filled up by advertisement as per guest lecturer policy-2024. 5 6. Mr. 5 6. Mr. Siddiqui further submits that the respondent State misinterpreted the order passed by this Hon'ble Court in WPS No.5232/2023 and batch of petitions decided on 26.06.2024. In the said order, it is nowhere mentioned that the cases/petitions which has already been decided by the Hon'ble Court by granting protection to them is vacated or modified, but the respondent authorities have themselves assumed that the order passed in earlier petitions has been cancelled or set-aside or modified by order dated 26.06.2024. The order passed by this Hon'ble Court in WPS No.4212/2024 on 03.09.2024 was never challenged by the respondents in any appeal therefore that order has attained finality and by administrative order, the respondent authority cannot set-aside or modify or clarify the judicial order. 7. The appellants have filed the present appeal against the order dated 03.09.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in WPS No. 4034 of 2024 and other connected matters, by which the learned Single Judge has disposed of the writ petition filed by the writ petitioner (appellants herein) observing that the State Government would be at liberty to appoint Guest Lecturers strictly in accordance with the minimum qualification as prescribed in the UGC Regulation on minimum qualification for appointment of teachers and Other Academic Staff in University and College and Measures for Maintenance of Standard in Higher Education 2018 (for short, the Regulation of 2018) further making it clear that the petitioners shall not be replaced by similar set of 6 Guest Lecturer having similar qualification as the petitioners were having. 8. According to Mr. Siddiqui, the learned Single Judge didn't appreciate the correct facts and the law, and had ignored the vital issue, that when there is an order operating in favour of the writ petitioners/appellants that the guest lecturer can't be replaced by another guest lecturer and further the earlier order of this Hon'ble Court has attended finality as even there was no appeal or review of that order by the respondent State. Therefore if any contrary view was to be taken by the Hon'ble Single Judge, then the same was to be referred to a Larger Bench. Also the respondent State, in the garb of the new policy or in the garb of upgrading the educational qualifications cannot be permitted to by-pass the dictum of this Hon’ble Court when the educational qualifications prescribed in the policy of the year 2014 and of the year 2024 are almost one and the same. 9. On the other hand, Mr. Yashwant Singh Thakur, learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the State/respondents submits that the learned counsel for the appellants is totally unjustified in terming the order dated 03.09.2024 to be a stay order in favour of the appellants as in the same order vide paragraph 8, the learned Single Judge has observed that the said order would not preclude the State Government from going in for filling up of the post by way of a regular appointment or by way of engaging contractual teachers under the rules for contractual 7 employment and that the protection to the appellants would be only to the extent of not being replaced by another set of Guest Lecturers. This order no where prohibits the State from going for fresh appointments. It is submitted by Mr. Thakur that the Guest Lecturers are appointed only for one academic session and after completion of that session, again fresh advertisements are issued every year. The State has now come up with a new policy of 2024 and now more qualified Guest Lecturers as per the norms of the UGC are being appointed and as such, the appellants/writ petitioners should not have any grievance, whatsoever, whereas the appellants do not fulfill the qualification as prescribed by the UGC. Reliance has been placed on a Single Bench judgment of the Orissa High Court in Siba Prasanna Pathy v. State of Odisha & Others {2022 SCC OnLine Ori 1497}. Learned State counsel further submits that similar issue has been taken up before this Court by filing a writ appeal bearing Writ Appeal No.729 of 2024, which was dismissed by this Court vide order dated 08.11.2024, hence, instant writ appeal be also dismissed in the light of aforementioned judgment. 10. We have heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the pleadings and documents appended thereto. 11. Considering the matter in its entirety as well as upon appreciating the arguments advanced on behalf of the parties, particularly, the submission of learned counsel appearing for the State that similar situated writ appeal being Writ Appeal No.729 of 2024 has been 8 dismissed by this Court vide order dated 08.11.2024, instant writ appeal is dismissed in terms of the order passed by this Court in Writ Appeal No.729 of 2024 vide order dated 08.11.2024. Sd/- Sd/-- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) (Ramesh Sinha) Judge Chief Justice Anu