BHASKAR MISHRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) KENDRIYA Vidyalaya Sangathan is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and is fully controlled financially and administratively by Government of India, Ministry of Human Resources and Development, New Delhi. Primary aim of the Sangathan is to provide, establish, endow, maintain, control and manage the Central Schools (Kendriya Vidyalaya) located all over India and abroad. Said Sangathan has three tire management structure for its smooth functioning; (1) Head Quarter; (ii) Regional Offices; and (iii) Kendriya Vidyalaya spread all over the country and abroad, each having their Vidyalayiya Management Committee. General Body is the Apex Body and the Minister of Human Resources and Development is the incharge and Chairman of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. Sometimes in fourth quarter of the year 2007, an advertisement was issued in various newspapers, including Employment News dated 12-18 November, 2007 thereby notifying vacancies for the year 2007-08 and 2008-09 of Post Graduate Teachers in various subjects. Pursuant to said advertisement, the petitioner also applied for consideration of his candidature and was called for interview. Thereafter select list had been published and therein the name of the petitioner did not figure. Petitioner submits that under Right to Information Act information was furnished to him that he had not studied subject of Commerce with accounting/cost accounting/financial accounting as the main subjects and had studied management accounting, and so his candidature has not been found eligible for the post of Postgraduate teacher (Commerce) at Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. At this juncture, present writ petition has been filed with following reliefs:

(2.) ON presentation of writ petition, preliminary objection has been raised to the effect that the present writ petition is not at all liable to be entertained by this Court and petitioner be relegated to Central Administrative Tribunal, as Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan has been included at item No. 34 of the Notification dated 17.12.1998 issued by Central Government in exercise of its authority under sub­section (2)of Section 14 of the Central Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, and in this background as well as in view of judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and another v. Subhash Sharma, AIR 2002 SC 1295, writ petition is liable to be dismissed on the ground of alternative remedy.

(3.) COUNTERING the said submissions, Sri S.K. Mishra, Advocate, appearing for Union of India, on the other hand, contended that Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan is a society registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860, as such it clearly falls within the definition of the term 'other authority', and as such the Central Government had full authority to issue Notification in exercise of its authority under Section 14 (2) of the Central Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985. In this background, Central Government has full legislative competence to issue such notification, as has been done, and writ petition is nothing but a pretence to overcome and overreach the dictum of Apex Court in the case of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and another v. Subhash Sharma, AIR 2002 SC 1295, as such writ petition is liable to be dismissed on the ground of alternative remedy, and petitioner is liable to be relegated to the forum of Central Administrative Tribunal.