AFIFA SHERWANI Vs. NALANDA PUBLIC HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition, the three petitioners have challenged the notices Annexures - P -6, P -7 and P -8 by which their services have been terminated, as no longer required, on payment of a month's salary. Nalanda Public Higher Secondary School (Respondent No. 1) is an institution run and managed by a society registered under the Societies Registration Act. It is not disputed that it is a recognised school and is governed by the provisions of the M.P. Ashaskiya School Viniyaman Adhiniyam, 1975.

(2.) THE petitioner No. 1 was appointed as an Assistant Teacher on 10.7.1986 in the Primary Section of the institution while the petitioner No. 2 and 3 were appointed in the Primary School on 16.1.1993. In the letters of termination, no reason was assigned therefore.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners has referred to the decision of this Court in Neeti Bhan v. Miss Hill Education Society, Lashkar and others [1991 (1) MPLJ 23] in support of her contention that even teachers appointed in unaided recognised schools are entitled to statutory protection in regard to security of tenure and such teachers cannot arbitrarily be subjected to rule of "hire and fire". Learned counsel has further submitted that since there is no dispute that the school is a recognised school and is governed by the provisions of M.P. Ashaskiya School Viniyaman Adhiniyam, 1975 and the impugned orders have been passed without affording any opportunity of hearing or show cause to the petitioners, the notices deserve to be quashed. Attention has also been invited to the decision in Umesh Kumar Trivedi v. State Committee, Rajiv Gandhi Prathmik Shiksha Mission and others [2002 (2) MPLJ 391] in support of the contention that even contract employees cannot be terminated for inefficiency without a due notice.