Govt not obliged to finance new courses in pvt colleges: HC
Kochi, Aug 18 (UNI) The Kerala High Court today held that the governemnt has no obligation to pay salary to teaching or non-teaching staff appointed by private-aided colleges when they start new courses or add divisions to an existing course, unless the government agrees to bear the financial burden.
A bench, comprising Mr Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Antony Dominique held this while disposing of a batch of petitions filed by the state government and the private mangements of various colleges.
The private colleges had earlier challenged the Government Order which disclaimed any additional financial commitment on its part while sanctioning a post in a college for graduate and post-graduate courses.
A single judge bench had allowed the managements' petitions and directed the government to pay salary and allowances for the teachers. However, in some other cases, another single judge dismissed the petitions by taking a contrary view.
The division bench today opposed the mangements' contention that the state government was legally obliged to pay the salary and other allowances to the teachers who were appointed by the managements.
The Court observed that if the managements wanted to start new graduate and post-graduate courses, they must do so with subject to the sanction and approval of the government but they had to find their own funds.
There was no compulsion either on the government or the university to start new courses in any private-aided colleges, it said.
''The government, in our view, is not bound to pay salary to those teachers and drain the public exchequer,'' the bench held.
It was the responsibility of the Law-Kerala-Police Benefits managements to pay salary to the teachers appointed on the strength of the sanction granted by the government, it added.
The Court also held that the government could impose any condition while according sanction to start a new course or adding new batches or division.
UNI