Chennai: A collegiate education department’s order, rejecting the Loyola College’s proposal for the approval of 19 assistant professors, including a librarian, was set aside by Madras high court on Monday.The court also directed the authority to approve the appointments within three months.Justice C Kumarappan passed the order while allowing a plea moved by Loyola College, challenging the order passed by the regional joint director of collegiate education, Chennai, dated Jan 27. According to the petitioner, it submitted proposals in 2019 and 2020, and the appointments were made within the sanctioned strength of 149 teaching and 59 non-teaching posts. It contended that it received sanction for 32 posts under various govt orders dated Jan 8, 2021, and, being a minority institution, it was not required to seek prior govt approval to fill sanctioned posts.Opposing the plea, the department submitted that the proposals lacked compliance with requirements under the Tamil Nadu Private Colleges Regulation Act, 1976. Recording the submissions, the court noted that previous judicial decisions established that minority institutions are not required to obtain prior permission for filling up sanctioned posts. The court concluded that the reasons provided for rejecting the proposal were not legally sustainable in this case and quashed the order passed by the department.
