ANAND D MAHATME Vs. STATE OF GOA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a Trust by name St. Anthonys High School Trust. Petitioner No. 2 is Shri Inacio Almeida Coutinho, a major Trustee of the first petitioner Trust. By this petition they seek to impugn an Order passed by the Government of Goa on 10th January, 1994 purported to have been passed under section 20 of the Goa, Daman and Diu School Education Act, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), taking over the management of their School which is being run at Assolna, Goa.

(2.) A few facts which has led to the filing of the petition may be stated. The aforesaid St. Anthonys High School is being run since 1921. As far as the first petitioner Trust is concerned, it was formed under a Deed of Trust dated 28th August, 1964 and the management of the School was taken over by the said Trust. During the period 1981 to 1985 one Smt. Irene Ferreira was the principal of the School. When she was appointed Headmistress in 1981 she had superseded Smt. A. M. Almeida who is the Intervenor in the present petition. As her seniority had been superseded, she filed in this Court a Writ Petition bearing No. 56 of 1985. The said petition in due course was rejected as having become infructuous by passage of time. The said Irene Ferreira was due to retire with effect from 30th April, 1985 and hence the post of Headmistress was to fall vacant with effect from 1st May, 1985. The petitioners on 1st April, 1985 brought this fact to the notice of the Director of Education along with a letter enclosing the minutes of its Departmental Promotion Committee, whereby Mr. Conception Almeida, a teacher who also is junior to Smt. Almeida, was proposed to be appointed to the post of Headmaster. The letter of 1st April, 1985 along with the minutes of the Promotion Committee are annexed to this petition. The minutes show that the Promotion Committee was constituted by two members: (1) Mr. Leo Almeida, a representative of the management; and (2) Mr. Wolfango Mascarenhas, an educationist, being the Principal of Cuncolim United Higher Secondary School. The Committee considered the cases of three graduate trained senior teachers for the post of Headmaster and the Committee found that Shri Conception Almeida was fit to be promoted to the post of Headmaster. As far as the case of Smt. Almeida is concerned, the minutes provided that the Promotion Committee did not consider the selection/promotion of Smt. Almeida to the post of Headmistress due to the following reasons :

(3.) IT is found that the teacher has been working in one of the training institutions for additional monetary benefits without the approval of the management of the school. . It is on record that the teacher tried her best to instigate the other members of the staff not to co-operate with the management.