The Supreme Court of India, in Subha Prasad Nandi Majumdar vs The State of West Bengal & Ors., ruled in favor of a professor whose extension of retirement age was earlier denied due to his teaching experience being outside West Bengal.
Background of the Case
Subha Prasad Nandi Majumdar served as a teaching staff member at Cachar College, Assam, since 1991. In 2007, he was appointed to Burdwan University in West Bengal and eventually promoted to Senior Secretary.
In 2021, the West Bengal Government issued a Notification dated 24.02.2021, extending the retirement age from 60 to 65 years, provided the employee had at least 10 years of continuous teaching experience in any State-aided university or college.
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Majumdar applied for the benefit, citing over 16 years of prior teaching experience in Assam. However, the University of Burdwan denied his request, stating his experience wasn’t from a West Bengal-aided institution. He was scheduled to retire on 31.08.2023 at 60.
The Single Judge of Calcutta High Court ruled in favor of Majumdar, stating:
“The word ‘any’ in the Notification is wide enough to include universities outside West Bengal.”
However, the Division Bench reversed this, reasoning that the Notification must align with the West Bengal Universities (Control of Expenditure) Act, 1976, which defines State-aided institutions strictly as those within West Bengal.
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Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, writing the judgment, noted:
“The Notification’s purpose was to distinguish between aided and unaided institutions—not between those within or outside West Bengal.”
Key highlights from the ruling include:
- The court deemed the State’s and University's interpretation narrow, discriminatory, and arbitrary.
- The 10-year teaching requirement should not be geographically restricted.
- The classification between in-state and out-of-state experience was held to be “parochial and suspect.”
- The Notification applied to non-teaching staff with teaching backgrounds, making the exclusion even more unreasonable.
The bench cited earlier precedents, emphasizing equality and rejecting artificial classifications based on geography.
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The Supreme Court set aside the Calcutta High Court Division Bench order and the University's retirement notice dated 28.06.2023.
“Appellant is entitled to the benefit of the Notification dated 24.02.2021 and shall retire at 65 years.”
Additionally, the Court awarded Rs. 50,000 as costs in favor of Majumdar.
Case Title: Subha Prasad Nandi Majumdar vs The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Case Type: Civil Appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (SLP) (C) Diary No. 11923 of 2024
Date of Judgment: 30th July 2025