Section 40 of the Central Universities Act, 2009: Protection of Action Taken in Good Faith
Section 40 of the Central Universities Act, 2009 provides statutory protection to an officer or other employee of a University for an act done, or intended to be done, in good faith in pursuance of the Act, the Statutes or the Ordinances.
Text of Section 40
40. Protection of action taken in good faith. - No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against any officer or other employee of the University for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, the Statutes or the Ordinances.
Meaning and Scope of Section 40
The provision is a good-faith protection clause. Its purpose is to protect University officers and employees from a suit or other legal proceeding when the impugned act was done, or was intended to be done, in good faith and in pursuance of the Central Universities Act, 2009, the applicable Statutes or the Ordinances.
The protection is therefore linked to both the nature of the conduct and its statutory connection. The section does not state that every act of an officer or employee is immune from legal scrutiny. On its terms, the protection applies where the act is done or intended in good faith and in pursuance of the specified legal framework.
Key Elements of the Protection
- Protected persons: an officer or other employee of the University.
- Protected conduct: something done or intended to be done.
- Good-faith requirement: the conduct must be in good faith.
- Legal connection: the conduct must be in pursuance of the Act, the Statutes or the Ordinances.
- Nature of protection: the section bars a suit or other legal proceeding within the scope of the protection stated in the provision.
Central Universities Act, 2009
The Central Universities Act, 2009 is Act No. 25 of 2009. It was enacted to establish and incorporate universities for teaching and research in various States and to provide for connected or incidental matters. The Act received Presidential assent on 20 March 2009 and is deemed to have come into force on 15 January 2009.
For the current consolidated statutory text and amendments, readers should verify the provision from the official India Code source before relying on it for litigation, legal advice or an official proceeding.
Official Central Universities Act, 2009 - India CodeRelated Provisions
Section 40 appears among the miscellaneous provisions of the Act. The immediately preceding Section 39 concerns proceedings of authorities or bodies not being invalidated by vacancies, while Section 41 deals with the mode of proof of University records.