Job security ends if college department shuts down permanently: HC

Karnataka HC ruled professors have no legal right to work till retirement if their department is legitimately shut down, but granted ₹40L compensation

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that college professors do not possess a legal or contractual right to remain employed until their retirement age if the specific department they teach in is permanently shut down and their positions are abolished.

A division bench comprising Justices D.K. Singh and Tara Vitasta Ganju issued the ruling while allowing an appeal by the Malnad College of Engineering in Hassan. The institution had challenged a previous single-judge directive that overturned the termination of two professors, Dr K.P. Ravikumar and Dr M.K. Ravishankar. The annulled order had originally mandated their continuation in service until the superannuation age of 65.

​The dispute originated after the college's Board of Governors decided in March 2021 to discontinue its unaided automobile engineering program due to a persistent drop in student enrolments, making the self-financing course financially unviable. Following requisite approvals from the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the department was officially closed. While some faculty members were reassigned, the two professors were issued relieving letters in September 2023, which they formally contested.

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​Legal representatives for the professors argued they had a legitimate expectation to serve until retirement, citing AICTE regulations. They also claimed that other faculty from unaided courses had been transferred to aided departments. In response, the college clarified that relocating them to the aided mechanical engineering department required specific government approval and a fresh recruitment process, which was not legally feasible.

​Overturning the single-judge bench's decision, the division bench clarified that statutory age limits for retirement under AICTE guidelines do not guarantee continued employment if a department is legitimately closed and posts are eliminated following proper regulatory permissions. The professors had notably not challenged the valid closure of the department itself.

​However, taking an equitable view of the professors' extensive teaching tenure spanning from 1997 to 2023, the High Court directed the educational institution to pay a compensation of Rs 40 lakh to each educator within four weeks, in addition to any pending statutory dues.

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