PUNE: In colleges located in hilly areas, the retirement age of principals has been increased to 65 from 60. A petition filed by Principal Dr Sudhakar Uddhavrao Jadhavar seeking an extension of three years as Principal in Chandrakant Yashwant Dangat Patil Shikshan and Krida Mandal based in Wadgaon, has been rejected by the Bombay HC.
The petition came up for hearing in the court of Justices GS Patel and Neela Gokhale of the Bombay HC. Jadhavar had filed a petition on June 1, 2023. He was going to retire as Principal at the age of 62 from Shivchhatrapati Arts and Commerce College on June 6. Jadhavar had filed the petition before that date to continue as Principal in the same post. He had made Chandrakant Yashwant Dangat Patil Shikshan and Krida Mandal, state government and SPPU as respondents.
The entire Haveli taluka is a hillock area. In the GR dated January 18, 2020, the Adivasi and Hilly areas have been separately mentioned. This concession is not applicable for colleges located in urban areas. Jadhavar had claimed that the respondents had illegally and without taking account the GR, had denied the extension in service. Since the college is located in a hilly area, the college management should extend his service till the age of 65.
The court should issue orders to the respondents and ask them to abide by the government decision, Jadhavar’s plea stated.
The respondents said that various complaints had been received about Jadhavar regarding his performance and misuse of his powers. He is also operating other educational institutes. He is busy with other work instead of doing his duty. The respondents sought permission from the court to submit an affidavit about Jadhavar’s performance and other complaints against him. Jadhavar has suppressed many facts and he has ulterior motives, the respondents said.
The respondents said that Jadhavar says that there should be no performance review. Till Jadhavar’s performance review takes place as per the state government’s orders, the college cannot grant an extension in service to him. A performance review is must and according to a 2016 ordinance, the rule has not been removed.
S Deshmukh appeared for respondents number 1 to 3, NC Walimbe for number 4, Rajendra Anbhule for number 5. Tejas Dande and Bharat Gadhvi appeared for the petitioner.
