N K CHAKRABARTY IAS RETD PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Vs. COUNCIL FOR INDIAN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal we are concerned only with two questions of law, one relating to the territorial jurisdiction of this court and the other about the maintainability of the writ application against the respondent, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (Council, for short). It appears that the C.F. Andrews Educational Society had started a School by the name of C.F. Andrews Memorial School at Raghunathpore, Jhargram, in the district of Midnapore, W.B. in the year 1980. The Government of West Bengal had issued a "No objection" Certificate in favour of the School in the year 1992 and the Council had issued a certificate of provisional affiliation on 28.9.94 which was valid up till 31.3.1998. After the expiry of the aforesaid provisional affiliation the Council refused to accord regular affiliation to the School and, accordingly, a communication was issued on 13.1.1998 by the Council addressed to the Principal of the School wherein certain deficiencies and short-comings in the functioning of the School were pointed out. The writ petitioners, who are the appellants before us feeling aggrieved because of non-granting of regular affiliation by the council approached this court by filing a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) The learned single Judge before whom the aforesaid writ application came up for consideration dismissed the writ application vide his judgment dated 4.8.1998 only on two preliminary grounds, one for lack of territorial jurisdiction, and the other on the ground of the maintainability of the writ application against the Council because, according to the learned single Judge the Council was not amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this court since it was neither the State or an instrumentality of the State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India nor did it fall within the definition of "Other Authority" under Art. 12 of the Constitution. The learned single Judge did not go into the merits of the controversy at all. Feeling aggrieved, the appellants have preferred this appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent.

(3.) In so far as the question relating to the lack of jurisdiction is concerned, we have no hesitation whatsoever in saying that the learned single Judge erred in law by dismissing the writ application on the ground because this court surely and certainly has the territorial jurisdiction in this case. we say so because the School which is at the centre of controversy with regard to the grant of affiliation is located at Jhargram in the State of West Bengal. Clause 2 of Article 226 of the Constitution provides that the power vesting in a High Court to issue writs or directions to an Authority or person may be exercised by that High Court in relation to such territories within which the cause of action, fully or in part, arises for exercise of such power, notwithstanding that the seat of such Government, person or Authority is not within those territories. Clause 2 of Article 226 of the Constitution reads thus: