New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned to September 24 the hearing on a petition, filed by eight professors from different colleges of the Delhi University seeking payment of their due salaries, after the petitioners’ counsel pointed out that the matter is of public interest in nature and requires to be heard by a division bench.
After hearing the submission, a single-judge bench of Justice Jyoti Singh sent the matter for hearing to a division bench.
The petition, filed by Assistant Professor Udaibir Singh and others through advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh last week, complained that the petitioners have not been paid their due salaries since May 2020 to date.
“The petition is directed against the impugned inaction on the part of the respondent colleges to pay to the petitioners’ due salaries from the month of May 2020 and onwards till date. It is respectfully submitted that the impugned inaction on the part of respondent colleges is violative of the fundamental right of the petitioners guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Delhi University Act 1922,” the plea said.
It sought directions to ensure timely payment of salaries in the future and said that the impugned actions are unjust, unfair, arbitrary, discriminatory, unethical, unconstitutional.
The plea said that the action of non-payment of salaries is bad in law as much as the same is violative of the right to life as well as the right to livelihood as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
It submitted that all respondent colleges are affiliated with the respondent Delhi University and are 100 per cent funded by the Government of Delhi.
The plea said that the petitioners are members of Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) and on behalf of them and other employees have been writing to the Delhi government for the release of funds in order to enable the colleges to pay the due salaries to 1,500 teachers and non-teaching staff working in the respondent colleges.
However, it said that no action has been taken by the respondents in the matter to date.