PRAKASH SINHA Vs. BIRENDRA BAHADUR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) VALIDITY of appointment of the Appellant to the office of the Principal of Bapu Inter College, Salempur, Deoria (hereinafter referred to as the College) was questioned before this Court by Respondent No. 1, Sri Birendra Bahadur Singh, a lecturer in the college by writ of quo -warranto. Further prayers for restraining the Appellant from working as the Principal and for directions commanding the educational 'authorities and the committee of management of the college to appoint a Principal in accordance with law, were also made. This petition was allowed by the learned Single Judge vide judgment dated 17-9-1991, but as the Appellant has been working as Principal for the last several years, he has been allowed to continue until a suitable candidate is selected in accordance with law. The learned Single Judge has also issued directions to the Respondents in the writ petition to take steps immediately for selection of the Principal by U.P. Secondary Education Service Commission. It is against the aforesaid judgment of the learned Single Judge that this special Appeal has been filed.

(2.) SRI R.C. Srivastava, learned Senior Counsel for the Appellant has made four submissions, namely (i) Appellant's services stand regularised as Principal under Section 16 -GG of the U.P. Intermediate Education Act, (ii) in view of the order dated 25 -9 -1979 of the Deputy Director of Education, Appellant's services as Principal of the College has been regularised and he is entitled to continue on that post, (iii) in any case the ad hoc appointment of the Appellant is liable to be regularised under Section 33 -A of the U.P. Secondary Education Services Commission and Selection Boards Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as the Act); and (iv) the Respondent No. 1 is guilty of delay and laches in challenging the appointment of the Appellant and for this reason this Court should not interfere. Sri Murlidhar, learned Senior counsel for the Respondents has disputed the aforesaid submissions and has pressed for dismissal of this Special Appeal. Appellant's father Sri Bhanu Pratap Sinha, who was the Principal of the college and was due to retire on 30 -6 -1976 took leave preparatory to retirement from 9 -12 -1975. The Appellant, who has working as a lecturer in another college known as Subhash Inter College, Bhatni, Deoria, was appointed by the Committee of Management of the college on 9 -12 -1975 as ad hoc Principal of the college and on the 'same day the District Inspector of Schools (hereinafter referred to as the D.I.O.S.) approved his appointment. However, the teachers of the college made representations before the Deputy Director of Education against the appointment of the Appellant. The Deputy Director of Education by his order dated 2 -2 -1976 quashed the appointment of the Appellant on the ground that under the U.P. Secondary Education (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 1975 the senior most teacher of the college ought to have been appointed as ad hoc Principal and the Appellant could not have been appointed being the son of the Principal of the college in view of the prohibition contained in the regulations framed under the U.P. Intermediate Education Act against an appointment of a person, who is related to 'any member of the committee of management or the Principal. The Committee of management filed a writ petition No. 176 -A of 1976 before this Court against the aforesaid order of the Deputy Director of Education. On 10 -2 -1976 the operation of the order of the Deputy Director of Education mentioned above was stayed till the end of June, 1976. The committee of management however, by resolution dated 5 -5 -1976 continued the Appellant as Principal of the college till a regular incumbent is selected. The aforesaid resolution of the committee of management was approved by the D.I.O Section by letter dated 12 -5 -1976 On 7 -7 -1976 this Court modified the aforesaid interim order dated 10 -2 -1976 and permitted the management to make a fresh ad hoc appointment of the Principal. As mentioned above the management had already reappointed the Appellant by its resolution dated 5 -5 -1976. During the pendency of the aforesaid writ petition Section 16 -GG was inserted in the U.P. Intermediate Education Act, which provided for regularisation of the services of the ad hoc teachers appointed between 18 -8 -1975 to 30 -9 -76. As Section 16 -GG did not provide for regularisation of ad -hoc Principal, the committee of management filed a writ petition No. 1525 of 1976 before this Court on the ground that the services of the Appellant stand regularised under Section 16 -GG of the U.P. Intermediate Education Act. This Court on 17 -8 -1977 passed an interim order directing that the Respondent therein shall not insist for holding fresh selection for the appointment of the Principal for the college. As the Appellant was not getting his salary from July, 1977, he also filed a writ petition No. 2056 of 1977. However, on 22 -2 -1979 the writ petition No. 176 -A of 1976 was dismissed in view of the statement of the Learned Counsel for the Petitioner to the effect that the writ petition had become infructuous. The writ petition No. 1525 of 1976 was dismissed on 27 -3 -1979 on merit, holding that the Appellant is not entitled to be regularised as the Principal of the College under Section 16 -GG of the U.P. Intermediate Education Act. The writ petition No. 2056 of 1977 filed by the Appellant for payment of salary was also dismissed as not pressed. The order of Deputy Director dated 2 -2 -1976, setting aside the ad hoc appointment of the Appellant as Principal of the college, became final due to dismissal of the writ petition on 22 -2 -1979 filed against it. After the order dated 2 -2 -1976 became final and after this Court dismissed the writ petition No. 1525 of 1976 by holding that the Appellant's services as Principal of the college cannot be regularised, the Deputy Director of Education by another order dated 25 -7 -1979 declared that Appellant's services as Principal of the college stand regularised under Section 16 -GG. Section 16 -GG of the U.P. Intermediate Education Act is reproduced below:

(3.) SECTION 16 -GG provides for regularisation of the appointment of the ad hoc teachers only and it does not deal with the head of the institution. Division Bench of this Court in the cases of Ram Saran v. State of U.P., 1983 UP LB EC 451 and Pyare Lal v. State of U.P., 1978 ALR 503 has held that Section 16 -GG does not apply to the case of the Principal find it deals with the teachers only. In fact a Division Bench of this Court following its earlier decision dismissed the writ petition No. 1525 of 1976 (supra) filed by the committee of management of the college to which the Deputy Director of Education was also a party, holding that the services of the Appellant as Principal of the college cannot be regularised under Section 16GG. This judgment has become final. In view of the aforesaid position the first submission of the Learned Counsel for the Appellant has got to be rejected.