BINEETA PATNAIK PADHI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, an educationist by profession, has been constrained to invoke the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner has averred that while she was discharging her duties as the Principal of Army Public School at Panagarh (arraigned as "Respondent No. 5" in this writ application and hereinafter referred to as the "said school") and whilst serving in her tenure as an extended probationer, she was terminated from such post in violation of both her fundamentalrights as well as certain statutory rights. This termination was effected on her by Chairman of the said school (hereinafter referred to as "Respondent No. 7 ").

(2.) In a bid to challenge her termination, the petitioner has pressed this writ application before this Court. However, when the matter was taken up for hearing on March 12, 2021, Mr. Y.J. Dastoor, learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing on behalf of the contesting Respondents 2 to 8, had demurred on the maintainability of the writ application itself.

(3.) In the opinion of Mr. Dastoor, such writ application was not maintainable for the forthright reason that the said school is a private unaided educational institution operated by the Army Welfare Education Society (arraigned as "Respondent No. 3 " in this writ application and hereinafter referred to as "AWES "), a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. In other words, Mr. Dastoor argued that since the said school was a private unaided school and the AWES which is managing it, is not a public body, in view of the mandate of Article 12 of the Constitution of India, neither the said school nor the society overseeing the affairs of the said school would be amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court.