Unpaid teachers: HC directs govt to release funds to 4 DU colleges by Nov 9
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Delhi government to release by November 9, the remaining amount of two quarters to four Delhi University colleges, fully funded by it, to enable the institutes to release pending salaries of staffers. A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad observed that a major festival, Diwali, is round the corner and the government is depriving people of their
salaries.
The bench said it was not persuaded by any reason given by the Delhi government to deprive those who are employed in the colleges of their salaries.
"You cannot deprive teachers of their rights and salaries. Do you realise the major festival is round the corner and you are depriving people of their salaries," it said.
The bench also directed the four colleges — Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Bhagini Nivedita College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya Women's College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies — to forthwith release the pending salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff, after receiving funds from the Delhi government.
The high court was hearing a plea by various teachers seeking direction to the institutions, which are affiliated to the varsity and fully funded by the Delhi government, to release their salaries pending for the last four months.
The four colleges told the court that the Delhi government subsidised them to an extent of 100 per cent and it releases the fund on a quarterly basis in four tranches. Advocate Ashok Agarwal, representing the teachers, said the four colleges have not paid salaries to their staff for the months of June, July and August.
Delhi government counsel submitted that there were some irregularities in accounts of the colleges and a special audit was being done at three colleges while an audit has been concluded in two of them, it will end in the third one on Thursday.
It added that, immediately on fund being released to colleges, salaries of petitioners and all other teaching and non-teaching staff be released forthwith. The court listed the matter for further hearing on November 11.
