Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that college principals can now continue in their posts till their retirement.
Putting an end to Clause 5.1.6(d) of the UGC Regulations, which had put a cap of five years on the term of college principals, a bench of Justices ZA Haq and Manish Pitale on Monday held the clause as “manifestly arbitrary”.
“This is a clear assault on the legitimate expectation of petitioners and other similarly situated persons and, therefore, it can certainly be held to be unreasonable restriction on such persons and their expectation of career progression,” the bench was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
The ruling came after 12 college principals from Vidarbha region moved the HC challenging the validity of the clause. According to them, the UGC clause curtails their employment period, but earlier they were allowed to hold their positions till their retirement.
However, the management can take strict actions against the principals not performing their duties diligently.
According to UGC, the clause was based on internationally accepted practice and through a minimum tenure period so that the heads of higher education institutions will always be on alert to ensure that academic standards are maintained.
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