HC castigates govt., Rani Channamma University ‘for playing with life of teacher’

The State government “wants to play with the life of a teacher” who had served the government for 34 years, the High Court of Karnataka observed, while castigating the government and Rani Channamma University, Belagavi, for dodging payment of full terminal benefits to a retired professor even 10 years after his retirement merely on the question as to who has to pay the retirement benefits.

“It is ununderstandable why the petitioner, despite working for 34 years, has not been paid complete pension, leave encashment, and gratuity amounts. The State wants to play with the life of the petitioner. He is now 70 years old, having retired 10 years ago, and has been fighting for a grant of his terminal benefits,” the court observed.

Both pulled up

While pulling up both the varsity and the government for compelling the retired professor to knock the doors of the court multiple times, Justice M. Nagaprasanna directed the government and the university to pay entire terminal benefits to petitioner, M.A. Dhavaleshwar, a retired principal of Sangolli Rayanna First Grade College, Belagavi, within four weeks along with 6% interest.

The court noted that he had filed a petition in 2020 for non-payment of a single rupee as a retirement benefit even though he retired in 2015, and the court had directed the government to pay all the terminal benefits. As the court’s 2020 order was not honoured, he filed a contempt of court petition, and this has yielded a partial payment of around ₹15 lakh to him. As around ₹30 lakh is still not paid, he filed the present petition in 2022.

Who is to pay?

The only reason for non-payment of retirement benefits was due to dispute between the government and the university on the question as to who has to pay the retirement benefits as the government college, in which the petitioner was serving, was absorbed as a constituent college of the university three years prior to his retirement.

The court said that the government and the varsity will have to pay the remaining amount to him, along with 9% interest from the date of his retirement, if they failed to pay the amount with 6% interest within four weeks. He is also entitled for ₹1,000 per day for every day’s delay in payment after four weeks, the court said.