Non-payment of salaries: Delhi HC directs govt to release funds to DU colleges within week

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Delhi government to ensure that funds are released within a week to twelve DU colleges, which are fully funded by the state, for payment of salaries to the staff. The high court also warned of issuing contempt notices to senior Delhi government officers, including minister Atishi, if the judicial orders are not complied with.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the court’s patience was running out and it was just waiting for "101st sin" to be committed by the officials who would then have to face action. “Please ensure that salaries are paid. We are not going to take it lightly. We are neck deep in seeing your officers and officers of other departments. We are just waiting for that 101st sin. Our patience is running out," the judge told the counsel for the Delhi government department. Convey this to the director of Department Higher Education, the judge added.

The high court was hearing a plea seeking contempt action against Minister of Department of Higher Education Atishi, secretary of the department R Alice Vaz and its director Bhupesh Chaudhary for allegedly deliberately and intentionally not complying with the high court’s directions issued in April. The contempt petition filed by some of the serving and retired teachers of Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) College said despite the court’s order, the authorities have not filed the affidavit with specific timelines to be mentioned. The main petition was filed by the college staff in 2020 seeking directions to the authorities for release of their salaries.

Advocate Monika Arora said the Delhi government has not released the salaries of the college staff for the months of March and April. She said the Delhi government has been paying the salaries since the last 30 years but the problem has started from the past four years because of which the aggrieved persons have to approach court repeatedly.

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The high court, in its April 16 order, had said the Delhi government as well as the DDU College are directed to place an affidavit on the budgetary allocation of the college, and the funds which have been released to the college by the Delhi government. It had also directed them to place on affidavit as to whether the salaries of the teachers for the next six months have been taken into consideration in such budgetary allocation, and had said that the affidavit be filed within one week. They were also asked to indicate when the salaries for the month of March and April will be released.

Delhi University funds

Advocate Jawahar Raja, representing the minister and officers of the department, said the state government was only providing grant-in aid and the college has to pay the salaries. “My funds to the college are only a packet of assistance. They have to raise their internal funds as well. I have no administrative control over them. They are under the Delhi University which is under the central government. Let the central government either disaffiliate them and affiliate them to the Delhi government’s university or let the central government fund them,” he contended.

The judge, however, said employees only want their salaries and who pays them is irrelevant to them and also to the court. “You were told about this earlier also. The department chose to stick to its stand. You stick to your stand, you reap the benefits of it. One of which is contempt. You face contempt. We will then issue contempt notices to the (alleged) contemnors and ask them to personally appear and explain,” the court said. It added, “Whatever it is, you have to do it with them. Delhi University has nothing to do with it. It is like any other affiliated university, they do not have any control over the college or the staff."

Raja, who submitted that the director of the department has now filed the affidavit, referred to its content saying the process of release of grant-in-aid of DDU College is still under process as part of the first instalment and it shall be released after the concurrence of finance or planning department of Delhi government. He assured the court that the amount shall be released to the college within a week. “We are hopeful that they will do it in a week,” the court said, directing the DDU college to strictly utilise the funds which are released for defraying the salaries and pensions of the petitioners and other similarly placed staff before utilising it for any other purpose.

The court listed the matter for July 15 for placing on record the compliance of its order. Twelve colleges which are affiliated with the Delhi University and are fully funded by the Delhi government are Acharya Narendra Dev College, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, Bhagini Nivedita College, Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya Women’s College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College (DU), Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.