New Delhi, August 8
Members of Parliament who are also professors at universities can continue to draw salaries from the varsities in question without attracting any provisions of the office of profit law.
The joint committee on offices of profit in its report tabled in Parliament today said that universities constituted under independent acts of Parliament did not attract the provisions of the office of profit law.
The committee headed by BJP’s Satyapal Singh was reviewing the question whether MPs Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD, Rakesh Sinha (Nominated) and Sukanta Majumdar of the Lok Sabha attracted the provisions of office of profit since they were also engaged in teaching assignments at Delhi University and University of Gour Banga in West Bengal, respectively.
While Majumdar is an assistant professor at Gour Banga University, Sinha and Manoj Kumar Jha or teaching at University of Delhi.
The joint committee while reviewing the matter said that as per the Ministry of Law, the basic test to decide whether an office is an office of profit so as to disqualify a person as MP is to find out whether that office is under the Government of India or under a state government. In the current case Gour Banga University and Delhi University have been constituted under the Gour Banga University act 2007 and the Delhi University act 1922 and are autonomous institutions.
The committee also noted the relevant UGC resolution providing that teachers who wish to continue teaching in the university and colleges after being elected or nominated as MPs or MLAs may be allowed to teach either by taking leave of absence or by applying to be “on duty” when the Parliament is in session to attend to parliament responsibilities.
