The retirement age at Panjab University is 60 years, but under a 2016 order of the High Court, an extension of five years was given to the faculty members.
Image Credit source: File Photo
The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed its 2016 stay order allowing five-year extension in the age of retiring faculty in the Panjab University (PU). Thursday evening, hours after the order was canceled Panjab University fired 58 faculty members. Actually, the matter is that the retirement age in Panjab University is 60 years, but under the order of the High Court in 2016, an extension of five years was given to the faculty members. During this time, along with salary, other facilities were also being given to them.
A bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Jagmohan Bansal had quashed the stay order on September 19. At the same time, on Thursday afternoon, an order was issued by the university to relieve the teachers. In fact, in 2014, a group of teachers approached the High Court. He demanded that the retirement age be increased from 60 years to 65 years, as is the case in institutions like Central Universities and IITs. However, the central government told the court that PU is not a central university. After this, on August 16, 2016, a single judge bench dismissed the petition.
130 teachers were teaching for six years
However, through an interim order in September 2016, a division bench stayed the single judge’s order and allowed teachers to work till the age of 65. It is worth noting here that 45 teachers were benefitted through the initial order, but through the additional appeal, around 130 teachers were teaching from the last six years till the age of 65. Raising the matter again on September 19, the division bench observed that the stay order was passed in September 2016 as there could be a shortage of teachers in the university at that time.
: Language Inputs
