JATINDRA MOHAN DAS GUPTA Vs. SUKUMAR SEN GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal at the instance of the Plaintiff. He was a B.A., B.T. of the University of Calcutta. The then Managing Committee of Mekliganj High School, by its letter dated January 15, 1958, appointed the Plaintiff as the Head Master of this institution and the Plaintiff joined his appointment on July 26, 1958. The Defendant No. 2 was the Secretary of the school. On September 26, 1961, the Managing Committee passed a resolution, terminating the Plaintiff's service and a notice was served on the Plaintiff by the Defendant No. 2 on October 5, 1961, by which he was informed that his services as Head Master would cease after one calendar month from the date of the receipt of the notice. The Plaintiff then filed a suit being Suit No. 26 of 1961 in the Court of the Munsif at Mekliganj challenging the above order of dismissal as illegal, arbitrary and ultra vires on certain grounds to which we will refer hereinafter. The suit was subsequently transferred to the Muasif's Court at Cooch Behar and re -numbered as O.C. Suit No. 5 of 1962. During the pendency of that suit, the School Committee was superseded by an order of the Board of Secondary Education and the District Inspector of Schools, Cooch Behar, was appointed as the Administrator of the institution. The then District Inspector of Schools Sri N.K. Roy was added as a party to the suit. The trial Court, however, ordered the striking out of the names of the Defendants Nos. 1 to 13, who constituted the Managing Committee and directed the case to proceed ex parte. Before that suit could be disposed of, the order passed by the Board of Secondary Education, superseding the former Managing Committee, was cancelled by it. The Plaintiff, therefore, was compelled to withdraw the suit with liberty to sue afresh and such liberty was granted by the trial Court on August 11, 1962. On August 15, 1962, the instant suit was instituted before the learned Munsif, Mathabhanga and subsequently it was transferred to the Munsif's Court at Sadar and was tried by the learned Subordinate Judge, Cooch Behar Sadar, who also happened to be the Munsif at Sadar.

(2.) The Plaintiff's allegations were that, with effect from April 1, 1960, the Defendant No. 2 had ceased to be a member of the Managing Committee inasmuch as his son ceased to be a student of the school and he was a member of the Managing Committee as the guardian of his son. The Plaintiff, therefore, avers that whatever took place after April 1, 1960 and specially at the instance of the Defendant No. 2, was absolutely illegal and as such, the constitution of the new Managing Committee or the resolution of the Committee dated September 26, 1961, or the notice of termination of service dated October 5, 1961, were all illegal and void. His further contentions were that he could not be removed without approval of the Board of Secondary Education and that he had also automatically been made permanent.

(3.) The suit was contested by the Defendants Nos. 2 to 11 and 13 by one written statement and also by the Defendant No. 15 by another. Their defence was practically the same. They denied the allegations made in the plaint and further contended that the suit was not maintainable for the reliefs claimed and also in terms of the terms of the order, permitting the earlier suit to be withdrawn.