MADRESA ABBASIA SOCIETY Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act as well as a Trust registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. The petitioner Society runs a primary school by the name of Madressa Abbasia Primary School, at Lunavada in Panchmahals district. The said school is a recognized school and is eligible to receive grants towards payment of salaries of teachers employed by it. It is an admitted position, that the said school is a minority institution.

(2.) By this petition, the petitioner challenges the action of the respondent No.3 " District Primary Education Officer of withholding the grant from 1979-80 onwards in respect of salaries payable to certain untrained teachers appointed by it. It is the case of the petitioner, that the school in question being a minority institution, the provisions of Schedule "F" of the Bombay Primary Education Rules, 1947 [the Rules] are not applicable to it.

(3.) Sometime in the year 1985, seven teachers of the petitioner school preferred a writ petition being Special Civil Application No.5082 of 1985 before this Court, seeking salaries in accordance with the recommendations of the Second Pay Commission. However, upon constitution of the Gujarat Primary Education Tribunal, the case was transferred to the Tribunal. By an interim order dated 11th December, 1988, the Tribunal directed the petitioner school to pay the said teachers salaries as per the Education Department G.R. dated 25th September, 1987. It appears that it is only thereafter that the petitioner has approached this Court by way of the present petition challenging the action of the respondent No.3 of withholding grants in respect of certain teachers from 1979 - 80 onwards. It appears that, in the interregnum, prior to the filing of the present petition, there was some correspondence between the petitioner and the respondent No.3 in connection with the impugned action of withholding the salaries of some of the teachers.