Setting aside the February 2 resolution of the university fixing the retirement age at 60 years, Justice Jay Sengupta ordered that senior scientist Krishna Kishore Goswami will retire at the age of 62 — as determined at the joining of services — and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will be liable for the financial burden of the university for his two years of service.

“The university passed a resolution dated 02.02.2024 fixing the petitioner’s retirement age at 60 years. This was purely based on the said letter of the ICAR dated 03.12.2023, which was itself arbitrary and violative of the petitioner’s legitimate expectations. It also exposes the apparent weakness of the university and its inability in independently deciding the retirement age of the petitioner and instead acting at the diktat of the ICAR,” Justice Sengupta ordered.

“…the university’s resolution is set aside and the matter is remanded back to the Executive Council of the university to decide afresh the retirement age of the petitioner in terms of the above observations and in accordance with law, expeditiously, preferably within a period of 8 weeks,” the court ordered. “…till the decision is arrived at by the university in this regard, the petitioner shall be at liberty to work in such capacity at the university unless he has already attained the age of 62 years,” it added.

Welcoming the high court’s order, Shamim Ahmed, the counsel of the Goswami, said: “When he joined as an employee of Bidhan Chandra Krishi University, he was contracted that his retirement age would be 62. He was supposed to retire in August 2025 but was forced to retire at 60… Now, he can continue his service up to August 2025.”