MOHAMMED SIKKANDER HATHATHU Vs. DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner seeks issuance of writ of certiorarified mandamus, calling for the records relating to the order of second respondent passed in O.M. No. 4515/A 1/98, dated 14-7- 1998, quash the same and direct the respondents to sanction and pay salary to James Xavier Raj from 1-7-92 to 26-10-93, K. Mohideen Hussain from 28-6-93 to 26-10-93 and T. Jebakumar from 22-9-93 to 26-10-93 as Secondary Grade Teachers with maintenance grant, who are working in the petitioner-School, forthwith and count the said period of service as regular service with all attendant benefits, and pass such further or others as this Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.

(2.) Petitioner School was established and administered by the petitioner for the benefit of the Muslim Community people, and it is a religious minority school as declared in O.S. No. 163 of 1991, on the file of City Civil Court, Madras, by judgment dated 27-10-1993. In that School, four teachers were appointed. They are : (1) J. James Xavier Raj, (2) K. Mohideen Hussain, (3) K. Jeba Kumar and (4) K. Kala Devi, appointed respectively on 1-7-92, 28-6-93, 22-9-93 and 10-3-93. All these appointments were made in sanctioned and approved vacancies. These appointments were approved by respondents only from 27-10- 1993 on the ground that the petitioner obtained the status by declaration only by virtue of the decree dated 27-10-1993. Therefore, these four teachers were denied their salary from the date of their appointment till 26-10-1993. One of the teachers, namely, K. Kala Devi filed W.P. 7636 of 1994 and challenged the Order of the Department refusing to pay salary from the date of her appointment till 26-10-1993. Shivaraj Pail, J., as he then was allowed the writ petition on 5-12-1996 and directed the department to pay salary from the date of appointment. When the Order was not complied with, Contempt Application had to he filed, and thereafter the amount due to the teacher was also paid. The Order in W.P. No. 7636 of 1994 has become final.

(3.) On the basis of the Order passed in W.P. No. 7636 of 1994, petitioner moved a representation that the three teachers whose salary was paid from 27-10-1993, are entitled to get their salary from the respective date of their appointments. The said representation was rejected by respondents, by contending that the Order in W.P. No. 7636 of 1994 is binding only on the parties to the litigation and, therefore, these teachers will not be entitled to any benefit. The same is challenged in this writ petition.