Chapter VII GRIEVANCES OF TEACHERS AND EMPLOYEES

1. (1) There shall be a Grievances Committee in each university to deal with all types of grievances; except grievances against the State Government including its officials, of teachers and other employees of the university, affiliated and autonomous colleges and recognized institutions, other than those managed and maintained by the State Government, Central Government or a local authority; which are not within the jurisdiction of the University and College Tribunal.
2. (2) The university shall establish a Grievances Redressal Cell headed by the officer of the university not below the rank of the Assistant Registrar for providing administrative assistance to the Grievances Committee.
3. (3) The Grievances Committee shall consist of the following members, namely :-
   • (a) retired Judge not below the rank of the District Judge, nominated by the Vice-Chancellor - Chairperson;
   • (b) one Dean, nominated by the Vice-Chancellor;
   • (c) Chancellor's nominee on the Management Council;
   • (d) Registrar;
   • (e) one teacher belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis) or Nomadic Tribes or Other Backward Classes and one non-teaching employee nominated by the Senate from amongst its members;
   • (f) Law Officer of the University - Member-Secretary.
4. (4) The nomination of a retired Judge as the Chairperson and of a Dean as the member of the Grievances Committee, shall be for such period, not exceeding three years in aggregate, as the Vice-Chancellor may from time to time, in each case decide.
5. (5) The retired judge nominated as the Chairperson of the Grievances Committee shall be entitled for remuneration and conveyance charges, as may be determined by the university.
6. (6) The Grievances Committee shall hear, settle and decide grievances as per the law, as far as may be practicable, within three months, from the date of filing of the complaint.
7. (7) It shall be lawful for the Grievances Committee to entertain and decide grievances or complaints relating to service of the employees, which are not within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, after giving reasonable opportunity of being heard to both the parties.

1. (1) There shall be one or more university and college tribunals for one or more universities in the State, governed by this Act as well as the Maharashtra Agricultural Universities (Krishi Vidyapeeths) Act, 1983 (Mah. XLI of 1983), the Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University Act, 1998 (Mah. XVII of 1998) and the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Act, 1998 (Mah. X of 1999), for adjudication of disputes between the employees of these universities and their respective university and between the employees of the affiliated or autonomous colleges or recognized institutions of these universities, other than those managed and maintained by the State Government, Central Government or local authority and their respective managements, with regard to the matters specified in sub-section (1) of section 81.
2. (2) The Tribunal shall consist of the Presiding Officer, to be appointed by the State Government.
3. (3) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Presiding Officer of a Tribunal, unless,-
   • (a) he is or has been a Judge of High Court; or
   • (b) is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of High Court: Provided that, a person to be appointed under clause (b) shall be from amongst the panel of three persons recommended by the Chief Justice of High Court of Judicature at Bombay.
4. (4) The appointment of a person as a Presiding Officer of the Tribunal shall be on a full time basis and for such period not exceeding three years in aggregate, as the State Government may, from time to time, in each case decide.
5. (5) The remuneration and other conditions of service of the Presiding Officer shall be as determined by the State Government.
6. (6) The university shall make available to the Tribunal such ministerial staff as may be necessary for the discharge of its functions under this Act.
7. (7) All expenditure on account of the remuneration, pension, provident fund contribution, leave allowance and other allowances and facilities which may be admissible to the Presiding Officer and the staff placed at his disposal shall be borne by the university or universities in such proportion as the State Government may by order specify.
8. (8) The Presiding Officer may, by writing under his signature resign from his office and shall cease to hold his office on the acceptance of his resignation by the State Government or from the date of expiry of thirty days from the date of resignation, whichever is earlier.
9. (9) If any vacancy other than a temporary vacancy, occurs in the office of Presiding Officer of a Tribunal, the State Government shall, as soon as possible but in any case within three months, appoint another qualified person to fill the vacancy. In case of a temporary vacancy, the State Government may give the charge to the Presiding Officer of the other Tribunal until the Presiding Officer resumes duty. Any proceedings pending before the former Presiding Officer may be continued and disposed of by his successor from the stage at which they were when the vacancy occurred.

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law or contract for the time being in force, any teacher or other employee in the university governed by this Act or in affiliated college or recognized institution of any of these universities, other than that managed and maintained by the State Government, Central Government or a local authority, who is-
   • (a) dismissed or removed or whose services are otherwise terminated or who is compulsorily retired or who is reduced in rank by the university or management and who is aggrieved; or
   • (b) aggrieved by the decision of the Grievances Committee established under this Act; shall have a right of appeal and any appeal against any such order or decision shall lie to the Tribunal: Provided that, no such appeal shall lie to the Tribunal in any case where the matter has already been decided or pending before a court or Tribunal on the date of commencement of this Act or where the order of dismissal, removal, otherwise termination of service, compulsory retirement or reduction in rank, or decision of the Grievances Committee was passed at any time before the date on which this Act comes into force and in which case the period for filing an appeal has expired.
2. (2) Such appeal shall be made by the employee to the Tribunal, within thirty days from the date of receipt by him of the order of dismissal, removal, otherwise termination of services, compulsory retirement or reduction in rank, or of decision of the Grievances Committee, as the case may be: Provided that, where such order was made before the date of commencement of this Act, such appeal may be made if the period of thirty days from the date of receipt of such order or decision has not expired.
3. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Tribunal may entertain an appeal made to it after the expiry of the said period of thirty days, if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within that period.
4. (4) Every appeal shall be accompanied by a fee as prescribed which shall not be refundable and shall be credited to the university fund: Provided that, it shall be lawful for the State Government to revise, by notification in the Official Gazette, such fees as it may deem fit, from time to time.

1. (1) For the purposes of hearing and disposal of appeals, the Tribunal shall have the same powers as are vested in an appellate court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908), and shall also have the power to stay the operation of any order against which an appeal is made, on such conditions as it may think fit to impose and such other powers as are conferred on it by or under this Act.
2. (2) The Presiding Officer of the Tribunal shall decide the procedure to be followed by the Tribunal for the disposal of its business including the place or places at which and the hours during which it shall hold its sittings.
3. (3) Every appeal shall be decided as expeditiously as possible. In every case, endeavour shall be made by the Tribunal to decide an appeal within three months from the date on which the Tribunal receives it. If the Tribunal is unable to dispose of any appeal within this period, it shall record the reasons therefor.

1. (1) On receipt of an appeal, where the Tribunal after giving reasonable opportunity of being heard to both parties, is satisfied that the appeal does not pertain to any of the matters specified in sub-section (1) of section 81 or is not maintainable, or there is no sufficient ground for interfering with the order of the university or management or decision of the Grievances Committee, it may dismiss the appeal.
2. (2) Where the Tribunal, after giving reasonable opportunity to both the parties of being heard, decides in any appeal that the order of dismissal, removal, otherwise termination of service, compulsory retirement or reduction in rank, or the decision of the Grievances Committee, was in contravention of any law, contract or conditions of service for the time being in force or was otherwise illegal or improper, the Tribunal may set aside the order of the university or the management, or decision of the Grievances Committee, as the case may be, partially or wholly, and direct the university or the management,-
   • (a) to reinstate the employee on the same post or on a lower post as it may specify;
   • (b) to restore the employee to the rank which he held before reduction or to any lower rank as it may specify;
   • (c) to give arrears of emoluments, dues and other monetary benefits to the employee for such period as it may specify;
   • (d) to award such lesser punishment at it may specify in lieu of dismissal, removal, otherwise termination of service, compulsory retirement or reduction in rank, as the case may be;
   • (e) where it is decided not to reinstate the employee or in any other appropriate case, to give such sum to the employee, not exceeding his emoluments for six months, by way of compensation, regard being had to loss of employment and possibility of getting or not getting suitable employment thereafter, as it may specify; or
   • (f) to give such other relief to the employee and to observe such other conditions as it may specify, having regard to the circumstances of the case.
3. (3) It shall be lawful for the Tribunal to recommend to the State Government that any dues directed by it to be paid to the employee may be deducted from the grant payable to the university or, as the case may be, the management and be paid to the employee directly.
4. (4) Any direction issued by the Tribunal under sub-section (2) shall be communicated to both parties in writing and shall be complied with by the university or management within the period specified in the direction, which shall not be less than two months from the date of its receipt by the university or management.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any law or contract for the time being in force, the decision of the Tribunal on an appeal entertained and disposed of by it shall be final and binding on the employee and the university or management, as the case may be, and no suit, appeal or other legal proceeding shall lie in any court or before any other Tribunal or authority, in respect of the matters decided by the Tribunal.

1. (1) If the university or management, as the case may be, fails, without any reasonable cause, to comply with any direction issued by the Tribunal under section 83 within the period specified in the direction, or within such further period as may be allowed by the Tribunal, the university or management, as the case may be, shall on conviction, be punished-
   • (a) for the first contravention, with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees: Provided that, in the absence of special and adequate reasons to the contrary to be recorded in the judgment of the Tribunal, the fine shall not be less than ten thousand rupees;
   • (b) for the second and subsequent contraventions, with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees for each such contravention: Provided that, in the absence of special and adequate reasons to the contrary to be recorded in the judgment of the Tribunal, the fine shall not be less than five thousand rupees: Provided further that, when the direction issued by the Tribunal is not complied with, within the period stipulated in the direction or within such further period as allowed by the Tribunal, and when the contravention is a continuing one, the convicted person shall be punished with a further fine of rupees five hundred per day during which such contravention continues after conviction.
2. (2) (a) Where the university or, as the case may be, management committing the contravention under this section is a society, every person who at the time such contravention has been committed, was in charge of and was responsible to the society, for the conduct of the affairs of the society, as well as the society, shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that, nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any person liable to the punishment, if he proves that the contravention was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all the diligence to prevent commission of such contravention.
   • (b) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (a), where the contravention has been committed by a society and it is proved that the contravention has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of the Management Council of the university or any president, chairperson, secretary, member, principal or manager or other officer or servant of the society, such Management Council, president, chairperson, secretary, member, principal or manager or other officer or servant concerned, shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation.- For the purposes of this section, society means a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (XXI of 1860) or a public trust registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act (XXIX of 1950), or any other body corporate, and includes an association or body of persons, by whatever name called, under whose management one or more colleges or institutions are conducted and admitted to the privileges of the university.