Teachers at private aided colleges in Chandigarh to retire at 60, not 65 years, says high court

The HC bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat dismissed a plea from a Sector-26 aided college teacher, Gurmej Singh, who had moved a petition, challenging a Chandigarh administration decision in which it was ordered that aided college faculty would retire at the age fixed by Punjab government i.e 60 and not at 65.

The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has said that the University Grants Commission (UGC) order about retirement of college faculty at 65 years is not applicable to teachers working in private-aided colleges in the city.

The teacher at an aides private school in Chandigarh had referred to a March 29 notification of the Centre and argued that employees of technical universities, institutions governed by AICTE, higher educational university and institutions governed by UGC are covered by the notification, hence, the petitioners are entitled to age of superannuation at 65 years. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The HC bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat dismissed a plea from a Sector-26 aided college teacher, Gurmej Singh, who had moved a petition, challenging a UT administration decision in which it was ordered that aided college faculty would retire at the age fixed by Punjab government i.e 60 and not at 65.

The teacher had referred to a March 29 notification of the Centre and argued that employees of technical universities, institutions governed by AICTE, higher educational university and institutions governed by UGC are covered by the notification, hence, the petitioners are entitled to age of superannuation at 65 years.

The court, however, observed that the notification makes it clear that it was meant for employees of Chandigarh and was defining their conditions of service.

“So the provisions relied upon by the counsel for the petitioner relates only to the government colleges and the technical university under the administrative control of the union territory of Chandigarh. It has nothing to do with private but aided institutions,” the bench observed, rejecting the argument of the petitioner.

The court also added that the issue raised had also been settled in 2016, in which it was held that retirement age of Panjab University faculty would be 60 years not 65. The appeal against this 2016 judgment is still pending before the division bench of the HC.