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WA No. 98 of 2024

C/W WA No.89 of 2024

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

DATED THIS THE 03

rd

DAY OF MARCH, 2026

PRESENT

THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH

AND

THE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE TARA VITASTA GANJU

WRIT APPEAL NO. 98 OF 2024 (S-RES)

C/W

WRIT APPEAL NO. 89 OF 2024 (S-RES)

IN WA.No.98/2024:

BETWEEN:

MALNAD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

REP BY ITS AUTHORISED SIGNATORY

P B NO 21, SALAGAME ROAD

HASSAN - 573202

…APPELLANT

(BY SRI. P.N. MANMOHAN., ADVOCATE)

AND:

1. DR M K RAVISHANKAR

S/O LATE DR M KAMALAKAR

AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS

HASIRU, 1

ST

FLOOR

BEHIND JJ DEAF SCHOOL

GOWRIKOPPALLU HASSAN - 573202

2. STATE OF KARNATAKA

REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

M S BUILDING, DR AMBEDKAR ROAD

BENGALURU - 560018

3. VISVESHWARAIAH TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

®

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C/W WA No.89 of 2024

REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR

JNANA SANGAMA

VTU MAIN ROAD MACHHE,

BELGAUM - 590018

4. ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION

NELSAN MANDELA MARG,

VASANTH KUNJ NEW DELHI 110070

REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN

…RESPONDENTS

(BY SRI. K.N.PHANEENDRA, SENIOR COUNSEL ALONG WITH

SMT. VAISHALI HEGDE, FOR C/R1;

SRI. MOHAMMAD JAFFAR SHAH, AGA FOR R2;

SRI. SANTHOSH.S.NAGARALE FOR R3;

SRI. H.R.SHOWRI FOR R4)

THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED U/S 4 OF THE KARNATAKA

HIGH COURT ACT, PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE ORDER DATE D

14.12.2023 PASSED IN WP No.20487/2023 PASSED BY THE

LEARNED SINGLE JUDGE AND CONSEQUENTLY DISMISS THE

WP No.20487/2023 AND PASS SUCH OTHER AND FURTHER

ORDERS AS DEEMED FIT IN THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES

OF THE CASE, IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY.

IN WA.No.89/2024:

BETWEEN:

1. MALNAD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

REP BY ITS AUTHORISED SIGNATORY,

P B NO. 21, SALAGAME ROAD,

HASSAN - 573202.

…APPELLANT

(BY SRI. P.N. MANMOHAN., ADVOCATE)

AND:

1. DR K P RAVIKUMAR

S/O LATE PUPPANNA,

AGED ABOUT 53 YEARS,

R/A 3RD MAIN, 12TH CROSS,

SHANTHI NAGAR, HASSAN - 573202.

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WA No. 98 of 2024

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PROFESSOR,

DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING,

MALNAD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

HASSAN - 573202.

2. STATE OF KARNATAKA

REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,

DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION,

M S BUILDING, DR AMBEDKAR ROAD,

BENGALURU - 560018.

3. VISVESHWARAIAH TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR,

JNANA SANGAMA,

VTU MAIN ROAD, MACHHE,

BELGAUM - 590018.

4. ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

NELSAN MANDELA MARG,

VASANTH KUNJ, NEW DELHI - 110070.

REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN.

…RESPONDENTS

(BY SRI. K.N.PHANEENDRA, SENIOR COUNSEL ALONG WITH

SMT. VAISHALI HEGDE, FOR C/R1;

SRI. MOHAMMED JAFFER SHAH, AGA FOR R2;

SRI. SANTHOSH.S.NAGARALE FOR R3;

SRI. H.R.SHOWRI FOR R4)

THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED U/S 4 OF THE KARNATAKA

HIGH COURT ACT PRAYING TO ALLOW THIS APPEAL AND SET

ASIDE THE ORDER DATED 14.12.2023 PASSED IN WRIT

PETITION No. 20488/2023, PASSED BY THE LEARNED SING LE

JUDGE AND CONSEQUENTLY DISMISS THE WRIT PETITION No .

20488/2023 AND PASS SUCH OTHER AND FURTHER ORDERS

AS DEEMED FIT IN THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE

CASE, IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY.

THESE APPEALS HAVING BEEN HEARD AND RESERVED

FOR JUDGMENT ON 21.02.2026, COMING ON FOR

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PRONOUNCEMENT THIS DAY, HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE

D K SINGH., PRONOUNCED THE FOLLOWING:

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH

and

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE TARA VITASTA GANJU

CAV JUDGMENT

(PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH)

The present intra Court appeals have been filed by

the Malnad College of Engineering (Respondent No.4

before the writ Court), being aggrieved by the judgment

and order dated 14.12.2023 passed by the learned Si ngle

Judge in Writ Petition No.20487/2023 (S-RES) connec ted

with the Writ Petition No.20488/2023 (S-RES).

2. The parties are referred to as per their ranking

before the writ Court, for the sake of convenience.

3. The learned Single Judge vide impugned judgment

and order has held that the petitioners would have the

right to continue in their services until they attain the age

of superannuation in the College as the order of

termination of their services was non est. The

Management has been directed to continue the services of

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the petitioners till they attain the age of superannuation

and pay them salary and allowances in accordance wi th

the UGC regulations.

4. The respondent No.4/College is a Government aide d

College and it receives grant-in-aid. However, the

Department of Automobile Engineering was a self-

financing Department as it did not receive any grant-in-aid

from the Government.

5. The petitioner Dr.M.K. Ravishankar in W.P.

No.20487/2023 was appointed as a Lecturer on

11.04.1997. He completed his Ph.D. programme from

the I.I.T. Madras after taking study leave and he reported

back to the College on 01.08.2007. He was thereafte r,

appointed as an Assistant Professor. On completion of 3

years of service as Assistant Professor, he was designated

as an Associate Professor and he was promoted as

Professor vide order dated 14.05.2015.

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6. Dr.K.P. Ravikumar, the petitioner in Writ Petiti on

No.20488/2023 was appointed as a Lecturer on

29.08.2005. He was promoted as Senior Lecturer on

01.09.2010, which was re-designated as Associate

Professor on 01.01.2012 and he was also promoted as a

Professor under the Career Advancement Scheme on

14.05.2015.

7. Due to a continuous decline in admissions in una ided

Automobile Engineering Department of the College, t he

Board of Governors of respondent No.4/College vide

Resolution dated 27.03.2021 decided to close the

Automobile Engineering course progressively after

obtaining necessary regulatory approvals from the

competent authorities. Finally, the Department cam e to

be closed, the employees working in the Department

including the teaching faculty either got adjusted against

the vacancies in other Departments or where

adjustment/accommodation could not be possible, the y

were relieved as the posts in the Automobile Engineering

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Department got abolished because of closure of the

Automobile Engineering Course.

8. The decision to close the Automobile Engineering

Course was communicated to Visveshwaraiah

Technological University (for brevity 'the VTU') and VTU

in turn had given its No Objection Certificate for closure of

the course. The respondent No.4/College had also

obtained approval of respondent No.3/All India Council for

Technical Education (for brevity 'the AICTE') for closure

of the course. Besides Automobile Engineering cour se,.

respondent No.4/College had also obtained approval for

closure of another non-aided course i.e., Industrial and

Production Engineering from the Academic Session 20 21-

2022.

9. In view of the abolition of the course and closu re of

the Department, the Management of the respondent

No.4/College issued relieving letters dated 11.09.2023 to

the petitioners, which they refused to accept. How ever,

the letters were sent through email and RPAD. Afte r

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receiving the communication of relieving the petitioners

from their Posts of Professors in the College, the

petitioners had approached the writ Court by filing the

aforesaid two writ petitions. The learned Single J udge

framed the following issue for determination, i.e.:

"Whether the persons employed by a Technical

Institution can be terminated on the ground that

the VTU and AICTE had approved the closure of

the course in which they were rendering their

services".

10. The learned Single Judge has held that the All India

Council for Technical Education [Pay Scales, Servic e

Conditions and Qualifications for the Teachers and Other

Academic Staff in Technical Institutions (Degree)]

Regulations, 2010, (for brevity 'the 2010 Regulations' )

are applicable to all Technical Institutions and Universities,

including deemed Universities, imparting Technical

Education. These Regulations also provide the age o f

superannuation i.e., 65 years. Regulations also pr ovide

for payment of pension, family pension, provident fund.

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11. On 01.03.2019, the AICTE framed a fresh set of

Regulations called 'the AICTE Regulations on Pay Sc ales,

Service Conditions and Minimum Qualifications for t he

Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff su ch

as Library, Physical Education and Training and Placement

Personnel in Technical Institutions and Measures for the

Maintenance of Standards in Technical Education -

(Degree) Regulations, 2019' (for brevity 'the 2019

Regulations').

12. As per the 2019 Regulations, the age of

superannuation of all faculty members including

Principals/Directors of the Institutions, has been

prescribed to be 65 years and an extension of 5 yea rs

could be given to those members, who were physicall y fit

and those who had written Books in the Technical Fie ld,

published papers and had an average of 360 feedback of

more than 8 out of 10, which indicated that they we re

active during the last preceding 3 years of service.

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13. The learned Single Judge has been of the view t hat

the respondent No.4/College would not be entitled t o

terminate the services of a Member of Teaching faculty in

view of the closure of a particular course. Once a college

imparting technical knowledge decides to start a course of

study after obtaining necessary approvals of the AICTE, it

is required to maintain the prescribed faculty and the

student teacher ratio. If the College is unable to attract

the requisite number of students, it is empowered to seek

the approval of the Council to close such course. However,

in the case of closure, the students who were admitted to

the course should not get affected. Measures have to be

taken by the College to accommodate the already

admitted students to other colleges and this would indicate

that the priority, as far as the Council is concerned is the

well-being of the students, who were admitted to su ch

course of study.

14. The learned Single Judge had drawn an inference

that the Council has not made any provision in relation to

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the Faculty of the course for which the approval has been

granted to close the course, it would mean that the

Management of the College would have to continue th e

services of the faculty attached to such course and bear

the expenditure in that regard.

15. It is further held that the College cannot retr ench

the faculty once an unaided course had become financially

unviable. And if the argument is accepted, then eve ry

college would have the right to pay a lesser salary than

what is prescribed by the AICTE on the ground that the

running of the course or the running of the Institution was

not financially viable. Therefore, financial viability cannot

be a ground to terminate the services of the faculty, when

the Management of the College has decided to close the

course on the ground of financial un-viability.

16. The Regulations are silent about the fate of th e

Faculty, which are applicable to all Technical Colleges and

Institutions, the presumptions should be in favour of the

petitioners that they are entitled to continue in t he

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employment till they attain the age of superannuation i.e.,

65 years of age.

17. It is further held that unless the teaching faculty and

the Management mutually agree to part with, the

Institution would have the obligation to continue them and

pay them their salary by utilizing their services.

18. The learned Single Judge also placed reliance on the

proceedings of the Committee Meeting held on 10.05.2021

that in the Mechanical Engineering Department, in P ost

Graduation Course, admissions were less than 10 in the

last 3 years and the required number of faculty was 38,

but the faculty available at the present was only 3 0,

therefore 8 additional faculty members were required.

19. The College itself had informed the VTU that it had

constituted a Committee, which would examine the

possibilities of recommending the teaching staff on a case

to case basis and make the recommendations to the B oard

of Governors. The learned Single Judge held that th e

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proceedings of the Committee dated 19.11.2022 would

suggest that though the Board of Management had

decided to accommodate the members of the Mechanica l

Engineering in various other undergraduate and post

graduate programs, the committee nevertheless appea rs

to be of the view, that it was not possible to accommodate

the existing faculty of Automobile Engineering in the aided

Mechanical Department. The Committee also stated th at

the College had decided to reduce the intake of the

Mechanical Engineering Department from 180 to 120 a nd

there were no vacancies in the Mechanical Departmen t

against which the petitioners could be accommodated. The

learned Single Judge was not impressed by the repor t of

the Three Men Committee dated 17.08.2023 in the lig ht of

the proceedings of the Committee meeting held on

10.05.2021, and thus allowed the writ petitions.

20. Sri P. N. Manmohan learned counsel for the

appellant/respondent No.4/College has submitted tha t the

petitioners were appointed in unaided Department i. e.,

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Automobile Engineering. The Department itself got

closed/abolished because there were not enough intake in

the said Department of the College and it became

financially unviable as it was a self-financing course. The

posts against which the petitioners were appointed also

got abolished. After abolition of the posts, the petitioners

would not have any right in law or either under the

contract of employment to continue in service till they

would attain the age of superannuation. The decision to

close the Department of Automobile Engineering was

taken with due approval from the VTU and the AICTE.

Neither VTU in its No Objection Certificate (NOC) no r

AICTE have put a condition that the petitioners wou ld

continue in service even after the Department of

Automobile Engineering gets closed.

21. It is further submitted that AICTE Regulations of

2010 and 2019 provides the maximum age in service, but

that does not mean that once appointed, their servi ces

cannot be terminated particularly, when the post ag ainst

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which they were appointed would no longer be in

existence. It is further submitted that the Department of

Mechanical Engineering is an aided Department and t o fill

up posts in an aided Department, the permission of the

Government would be required and once the permissio n is

granted, the application would be called for direct

recruitment and then after selection with the approval of

the Government, the posts can be filled. There is n o

question of automatic adjustment of the petitioners in any

aided Department. The Committee in its report dated

10.05.2021 did not consider the issue that the Mechanical

Department is an aided course.

22. The Mechanical Engineering Department as on da te

has intake of 120 students. There are 22 posts for

teaching staff, out of which 13 posts are filled up and 9

are vacant. Currently 95% of the admission of the

students in the aided quota of 120 students intake is from

CET and the Management quota is only 5%. In the

meanwhile, in 2018 an intake of 61 was increased in

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Mechanical Engineering and the intake became 180

students. To cope with the additional workload and on

account of the abolition of Industrial Production

Engineering course, some of the faculty members wer e

transferred from Industrial Production and Engineering to

Mechanical Engineering on temporary basis. Currently the

College has 34 faculty members in Mechanical

Engineering, out of which 13 are on aided basis and 21 are

temporary basis.

23. The submission is that the petitioners cannot b e

adjusted/accommodated in Departments which are aide d.

There is no unaided Department where the petitioners can

be accommodated. Petitioners could be accommodated

only in Mechanical Engineering Department. But tha t

being aided, the posts are to be filled up after du e

approval from the Government and through proper

selection process.

24. It is further submitted that the appellant College is a

Private Educational Institution, therefore, the writ petition

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itself was not maintainable inasmuch as the Departm ent

of Automobile Engineering was not under the control of

the Government as no grant-in-aid was given to the said

Department. The decision to abolish the Department of

Automobile Engineering was well considered decision and

the same was given effect to after taking the appro val

from the VTU and the AICTE. Once the decision to cl ose

the Department of Automobile Engineering is not in

question, the Department itself got abolished and t he

posts against which the petitioners were working th ere

also got abolished. The learned Single Judge theref ore,

should not have directed for their continuation till they

attain the age of superannuation. The right to continue in

employment exists till the post is available, against which

a person is employed. Once the post itself is abolished,

there cannot be any right to claim for continuation till the

person attains the age of superannuation. The Board' s

resolution dated 27.03.2021 was uploaded immediatel y on

the website of the Institution, however, relieving order

was issued after 2.5 years when it became impossibl e for

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the Institution to get them adjusted. It is further

submitted that the Institution cannot be expected to give

salary to the petitioners for a post which is not i n

existence and the petitioners' services are not utilized by

the Institution. He therefore, submits that the impugned

judgment and order is unsustainable and the same ma y be

set aside.

25. On the other hand, Smt. Vaishali Hegde, learned

counsel appearing for respondent No.1/Caveator in b oth

the appeals has submitted that the respondent

No.4/College is a Private Aided Engineering College

established in 1960, a joint venture between the

Government of India, Government of Karnataka and

Malnad Technical Education Society, Hassan. The Col lege

is an autonomous Institution with grant from the UGC and

is governed by the Grant-in-Aid Rules of the Government

of Karnataka. The said College is also recognized by the

All India Council for Technical Education and accredited by

the National Board of Accreditation and National

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Accreditation and Assessment Council. The Institution has

received grants through the Technical Education Qua lity

Improvement Programme of Government of India under

World Bank Assistance in three phases i.e., 2004-200 5,

2011-2016 and 2017-2021.

26. It is submitted that petitioners would have the

legitimate expectation of being continued in service till the

age of superannuation, having been appointed with t he

specific mention of the applicability of AICTE Regulations

as the Institution is an aided Institution receiving grants

from both Central and State Governments under vario us

heads. The VTU had granted NOC for closure of the

Department on the assurance that it would act on th e

recommendation of the Committee, which provided tha t

the faculty Member of the Automobile Engineering co urse

would be accommodated in the College. The College i s

now estopped to take contrary stand to the

recommendations dated 10.05.2021 of the Committee.

The respondent No.4/College had assured the VTU that the

Committee would place its recommendation to the Boa rd

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of Governors and therefore, the respondent/College had

misled the VTU into believing that the teaching staff would

not be terminated. The VTU has transferred the said

documents to the AICTE for approval. The Committee

headed by Dr.N.C.Shivaprakash had categorically giv en

the recommendation dated 10.05.2021 that the petitioners

should be transferred to the Mechanical Department.

Therefore, the approval of both the University and AICTE

was based on the recommendation dated 10.05.2021.

Immediately after securing the NOC, the appellant

Institution had given a complete go by to the Committee's

recommendation dated 10.05.2021.

27. The letter dated 25.03.2022 issued by the

respondent No.4/College would indicate that the faculty of

the Civil, Electrical and Electronics Engineering would not

be disturbed and they would be retained in service.

28. It is further submitted that the respondent Institution

has a positive obligation under the AICTE regulations to

continue the petitioners in service till they attain the age

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of superannuation. It is further submitted that var ious

Assistant Professors (non grant-in-aid) were promoted as

Associate Professor in the academic year 2024-25 in the

Department of Mechanical Engineering and vide order

dated 08.02.2025, the respondent No.4/College has

transferred three faculty members of Department of

Computer Science and Business System to the Departme nt

of Mechanical Engineering. It is therefore, submitted that

the ground taken by the respondent No.4/College tha t the

petitioners cannot be accommodated in Mechanical

Engineering Department and that Department is aided

Department and for making appointment, the Governme nt

approval is necessary and by selection process only one

can be appointed, does not appear to be correct. Sh e

therefore, submitted that the learned Single Judge, having

considered all the facts and circumstances of the case, has

rightly allowed the writ petitions, which is not required to

be interfered with.

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29. We have considered the submissions advanced by

the learned counsels and counsel for the AICTE and VTU,

besides the learned AGA.

30. The primary question which involves for

consideration in these appeals is that :

"Whether the petitioners have the right in law to

continue in the College up to the date of superannuation

i.e., 65 years as provided under the AICTE 2019

Regulations, particularly, Regulation 2.12?"

31. The petitioners were working in the Automobile

Engineering Department as Professors. Before the

relieving letters dated 11.09.2023 were issued to them,

the Department of Automobile Engineering was a self -

financing Department. Petitioners have not disputed that

there was consistent decline in admissions in Autom obile

Engineering course in the College. It is also not disputed

that the said course became unviable financially for the

College and therefore, the Board of Management of th e

College had taken a decision to close the Automobil e

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Engineering course and the Department. The VTU has

given no objection for closing the Department of

Automobile Engineering and the approval was accorde d by

the AICTE for its closure. The decisions taken by the

Board of Governors of the College, No objection and

approval granted by the VTU and AICTE respectively have

not been questioned by the petitioners in the writ

petitions.

32. The petitioners' service conditions are governe d as

per the AICTE Regulations 2010 and 2019. However, i t

provides the age of superannuation as 65 years.

33. The primary question which is required to be

answered is that whether the petitioners would be entitled

to continue till they attain the age of superannuation, i.e.,

up to 65 years though the Department of Automobile

Engineering itself was closed and resultantly the p osts

against which the petitioners were appointed and

continuing also got abolished. It is also not in dispute

that the Department of Mechanical Engineering is a

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Government aided Department and the appointments in

the said Department are to be made as per the

appointment procedure prescribed under the relevant

Regulations.

34. We are of the considered view, that the petitio ners

will not have a legal or contractual right to continue in the

employment, once the posts of Professor on which th ey

were working in the Automobile Engineering got abolished

on closure of the Department. The petitioners would have

the right to continue till the age of superannuation, had

the Department of Automobile Engineering was not cl osed

down. Once the Department of Automobile Engineering

was closed down and the posts got abolished, the

petitioners would not have the right to continue in the

employment of the College till the age of superannuation

i.e., 65 years.

35. The learned Single Judge has missed this vital aspect

while allowing the writ petitions. Mere provision for the

age of superannuation as 65 years under the AICTE

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Regulations would not entitle the petitioners to continue in

the College till the age of 65 years, even if the Department

of Automobile Engineering was validly closed, and t he

posts got abolished after all due permissions from the

relevant authorities i.e., VTU and the AICTE. As th e

petitioners have no right in law to remain in the College

after the Department of Automobile Engineering was

closed, and the posts against which they were working got

abolished, we are of the firm view, that the impugn ed

judgment and order dated 14.12.2023 passed by the

learned Single Judge is unsustainable, and thus, we set

aside the same and allow the appeals.

36. However, in equity we are of the view, that t he

petitioners have worked in the appellant/College fo r

substantial years i.e., from 1997 onwards till the date of

closure, therefore, they must be paid some financia l

assistance for losing their jobs, before the date o f

superannuation/retirement due to the closure of the

Department of Automobile Engineering in which they had

no role to play.

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37. We therefore, direct the appellant/respondent N o.4/

College to pay each of the petitioners a sum of

Rs.40,00,000/- (Rupee Forty Lakhs Only) within a pe riod

four weeks from today besides statutory dues, if an y

payable to them.

38. With the aforesaid directions, the present appe als

stand allowed.

39. In view of the appeals having been allowed, int erim

applications, if any do not survive for consideration, hence

disposed of.

Sd/-

(D K SINGH)

JUDGE

Sd/-

(TARA VITASTA GANJU)

JUDGE

NG /CT: SN