JAIN EDUCATION SOCIETY Vs. LT GOVERNOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The. Delhi Administration gives grants- in-aid to higher secondary schools recognized by the Central Board of Secondary Education and to other schools, such as middle schools, recognized by its department of Education. The administrative instructions governing the recognition of middle schools are set out in Chapter IV of the Delhi Education Code, 1965 (hereinafter called the Code). An application for recognition has to be made by the President, Manager, Secretary or Principal of the school in the prescribed form which is attached as "Proforma" to the prescribed covering letter in Appendix I to the Code. The various conditions which are to be fulfilled by a school with a view to obtain recognition are enumerated in paragraph 38 of Chapter TV. Under paragraph 42 a school seeking recognition may, for good and sufficient reasons, be exempted from one or more of the conditions of recognition provisionally if the Director is satisfied that the school is in a position to fulfil in the near future the requirements from whh it is provisionally exempted. Paragraph 44 requires that if an application for recognition of a school is rejected, the order shall state the reasons for such rejection. Paragraph 46 ensures that if a school ceases to fulfil any of the conditions of its recognition, the Director may suspend or withdraw that recognition after giving the school a reasonable opportunity to show cause against such suspension or withdrawal ,as the case may be, provided that if the Director is of the opinion that the defects are capable of immediate or early removal, he may allow the management reasonable time to remedy them to the satisfaction of the Department. The petitioner is a registered society running a middle school as well as a higher secondary school. The former was recognized by the Education Department and the latter by the Central Board of Secondary Education. The Education Department granted provisional recognition to the middle school run by the petitioner from 1st May 1968 lo 30th April 1969 by its letter dated 2nd July, 1968 (Annexure R-II to the written statement) subject to the fulfilment of the conditions stated therein. Three of the conditions which were material were as follows:-

(2.) No application for the recognition of this middle school for the year 1970-71 was made by the petitioner in the proforma attached to Appendix I of the Code. In this proforma as many as 35 entries had to be filled by the petitioner and a certificate has to be attached as to the readiness of the school to comply with all conditions which may be imposed by the Department while granting recognition. A copy of the resolution passed by the Managing Committee in this behalf has also to be enclosed. The application has to be signed by the President/ Manager/Secretary of the school. The reason is that the Department has to be assured that the grant-in-aid given by it is being properly spent and the school is properly managed. Only a letter was written by the Principal of the School on 12-11-1969 (at Annexure R-7 to the written statement) seeking extension of the recognition. But in this letter, the Principal stated the following damaging facts :-

(3.) This order refusing the extension of the recognition of the middle school managed by the petitioner has been assailed in this writ petition principally on the ground that under the Code as also on the general principles of natural justice, the petitioner was entitled to notice and hearing before this impugned order was passed by the Department.