DAYA RAM CHAUHAN Vs. BASIC EDUCATION BOARD/ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION (BASIC), VARANASI REGION, VARANASI AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Janta Junior High School, Dudauli, District Jaunpur, hereinafter referred to as the school, has been recognised as such by the District Basic Education Officer, Jaunpur under the provisions of the Basic Education Act, 1972. The School was established by a society known as Janta Shiksha Samiti Association registered as such in the year 1969 under the provisions of Societies Registration Act, 1860. Its affairs are managed by a committee of management constituted in accordance with the provisions contained in the Bye-laws of the society.

(2.) The school came on the Grant-in-aid list of the State Government in the year 1979 in accordance with the provisions contendended in Chapter IX of the Education Code. The petitioner was earlier appointed clerk by the Committee of management of the institution in the year 1971. it appears that by letter dated 2-6-1978 (Annexure-2 to the writ petition) the petitioner resigned from service, though, according to him, the letter of resignation dated 2-6-1978 was obtained under duress and was in fact not written by him voluntarily out of his free will. The case of the petitioner is that Ram Shiromani Misra, the then Manager of the Committee of Management wanted to appoint his brother's son Brij Bhusan Misra and to fulfil that design he (the petitioner) was forced to sign on some blank sheet of paper which was converted and fabricated into a letter of resignation, which the committee of management claims to have accepted on 30-6-1978. A complaint in this regard was made to the District Basic Education Officer by the petitioner on 1-9-1978. Upon notice to the parties the Basic Education Officer, by his order dated 8-3-1979, refused to approve of the management's action in terminating the petitioners services on the basis of the said letter of resignation. The Committee of Management preferred a writ petition ; it being writ petition No. 2046 of 1979, which was dismissed by a Division Bench consisting of K. N. Singh, (as his lordship then was) and S. J. Hyder, JJ. vide order dated 28-3-1980, on the ground that the Committee of management had an alternative remedy by way of appeal under Rule 12 of the U. P. Recognised Basic Schools (Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Teachers and Other Conditions) Rules, 1975. Pursuant to the said order the committee of management filed an appeal before the Deputy Director of Education which was rejected vide order dated 22-12-1981 on the ground that the appeal lay to the basic Shiksha Parishad and not to himself. Aggrieved the committee of management preferred a writ petition, it being writ petition No. 504 of 1982, which was again rejected by a Division Bench consisting of K. N. Singh (as his Lordship then was) and B. D. Agarwal, JJ. vide order dated 12th Sept., 1984 of the ground that the appeal was preferred beyond 3C days of limitation prescribed for preferring an appeal under Rule 12 of the aforesaid Rules. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court by way of Special Leave petition. The special Leave petition was dismissed with an observation that if the petitioner files an appeal before the Board on or before 31-1-1986, the Board would condone the delay in preferring the appeal and dispose it of on merits. The appeal was accordingly preferred before the Board i.e. Basic Shiksha Parishad, U. P. Allahabad. The Assistant Director of Education (Basic), Varanasi exercising the power of the Board allowed the appeal vide order dated 1-5-1987, validity and legality of which have been impugned in the present writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution.

(3.) I have heard Sri Ashok Bhushan, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri S. C. Budhwar, learned counsel appearing for the respondents.