NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has slammed the West Bengal govt's decision to deny teachers who had joined universities in West Bengal from other states the benefit of extension of retirement age from 60 to 65 years on the parochial ground that they had not taught in state-domiciled institutions for a continuous period of 10 years.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Mishra said it can never be the intention of a state to deprive teachers of the benefit of retirement age extension despite their having requisite experience from universities outside its jurisdiction.
"Classifying employees based on past teaching experience from universities within or outside West Bengal, particularly at the verge of retirement, after having served for decades lacks nexus and discernible object," the bench said.
Writing the judgement, Justice Narasimha said, "When such decisions are subjected to strict scrutiny in judicial review, they unfortunately expose themselves as parochial, potentially undermining our resolve of fraternity".
He added, "Constitutional courts must be vigilant and identify such decisions, embedded in the nooks and crannies of public administration and set them aside, for they have the potentiality of triggering similar actions by other States and their Instrumentalities".
The bench said it is easy to adjudicate a dispute on the constitutional scale of equality, which can be asserted by a citizen as a fundamental right.
However, the principle of fraternity, one of the founding goals of the Constitution, rarely asserts itself.
"It is the duty of the constitutional court to recognise its erosion, even in the bylanes of public administration and to restore the essential 'We' to ensure the unity and integrity of the nation," said Justice Narasimha.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Mishra said it can never be the intention of a state to deprive teachers of the benefit of retirement age extension despite their having requisite experience from universities outside its jurisdiction.
"Classifying employees based on past teaching experience from universities within or outside West Bengal, particularly at the verge of retirement, after having served for decades lacks nexus and discernible object," the bench said.
Writing the judgement, Justice Narasimha said, "When such decisions are subjected to strict scrutiny in judicial review, they unfortunately expose themselves as parochial, potentially undermining our resolve of fraternity".
He added, "Constitutional courts must be vigilant and identify such decisions, embedded in the nooks and crannies of public administration and set them aside, for they have the potentiality of triggering similar actions by other States and their Instrumentalities".
The bench said it is easy to adjudicate a dispute on the constitutional scale of equality, which can be asserted by a citizen as a fundamental right.
However, the principle of fraternity, one of the founding goals of the Constitution, rarely asserts itself.
"It is the duty of the constitutional court to recognise its erosion, even in the bylanes of public administration and to restore the essential 'We' to ensure the unity and integrity of the nation," said Justice Narasimha.
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