ABDUL HAMEED Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Writ petitioner in O.P.2521/1993 is the appellant. He is the Manager of A.M.L.P. School, Pudinjarckara, which is an aided Lower Primary School. He initiated disciplinary proceedings against fifth respondent, headmistress of the school. She was placed under suspension pending enquiry. Approval of the Assistant Educational Officer for continuing her suspension was sought for. The Assistant Educational Officer declined to approve the order of suspension and directed the reinstate her. Aggrieved by that order, petitioner filed a revision petition before the Government under R.92 of Chap.14A of Kerala Education Rules. Government disposed of that revision petition by G.O.(RT) 168/93/GE dated 12-1-1993. Government by that order upheld the decision of the Assistant Educational Officer and directed the writ petitioner to reinstate fifth respondent as Headmistress forthwith. Aggrieved by that decision, he preferred O.P. 2521/1993. Learned Single Judge by the impugned judgment dated 9-3-1993 directed the enquiry into the misconduct alleged against the fifth respondent to be conducted by the District Educational Officer, Malappuram, which should be completed within two months from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment. In the meantime, the writ petitioner was directed to reinstate fifth respondent within a period of one week from the date of judgment. Writ petitioner has come up in appeal.

(2.) The learned counsel representing the appellant raised the following contentions for our consideration. They are - Deputy Secretary to Government has no power to pass an order on a revision petition filed under R.92 of Chap.14A of the Kerala Education Rules; and that on the facts and circumstances of this case the Government and the learned Single Judge were wrong in directing the reinstatement of the fifth respondent pending enquiry into the misconduct alleged against her.

(3.) In support of the contention that a Deputy Secretary to Government cannot dispose of a revision petition filed under R.92 of Chap.14A K.E.R., reliance was placed on the decision of a learned Single Judge in Manager, Bavappara M.L.P. School v. Govt. of Kerala ( 1991 (1) KLT 880 ). That decision was based on the observations made by another learned Single Judge in the judgment in O.P.4575/1977 dated 13-3-1978. In O.P.4575/1977 the learned Judge observed: