Chennai: Three years after retirement, a former professor of the state-run Madurai Kamaraj University is still running from pillar to post seeking his retirement benefits, while a fresh notice to vacate the university quarters he has occupied since joining service has added another layer of hardship.
Dr P. Nagoorkani, a retired Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Contemporary History, retired on June 30, 2023, after joining the university as an Assistant Professor in April 2010. He says he has not received his retirement benefits despite repeated representations to university authorities and approaching concerned authorities.
The matter reached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, where he filed W.P.(MD) No. 8183 of 2025 seeking settlement of retirement benefits claimed at Rs 1.04 crore.
In its April 2, 2025 order, the High Court recorded that Nagoorkani had made several representations after retirement and that his Nov. 24, 2024 representation had not been considered. The court also recorded his submission that he had not received even a single rupee towards retirement benefits and was suffering due to the delay.
The court directed the university’s Chairman of the Convener Committee and Registrar to consider his representation in accordance with law and pass appropriate orders within two weeks. The court disposed of the petition at the admission stage without going into the merits of the claim.
However, Nagoorkani says his financial ordeal has continued. In his June 4, 2026 representation to the university, he said he had no other source of income and had depended on his salary to run his family and meet his children’s educational expenses.
Meanwhile, Nagoorkani has been served a notice to vacate the university quarters. He says he had been residing in the quarters since the beginning of his service and had regularly paid rent. Even after retirement, he paid rent for three months.
According to Nagoorkani, the notice warned that if he failed to vacate the quarters, he would be liable to pay three times the normal rent, adding to the financial burden at a time when his retirement benefits remain unsettled.
He has sought permission to remain in the quarters until his legitimate retirement dues are settled, pointing out that deductions towards rent and electricity charges had also continued.
He has also approached the officials. Nagoorkani has sought the University to release at least 90 per cent of his retirement benefits, along with applicable interest, pending final settlement.
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