RAMBHA BALA DEVI SAHARIAH Vs. MULTIPURPOSE PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition, a teacher of a private school has invoked the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India making a grievance against termination of her service. A preliminary objection has been raised on behalf of the respondents on the maintainability of the writ petition on ground of the school being not an authority within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India. It is upon answer to this objection, the main issue relating to the legality and validity of the order of termination of service of the petitioner will depend. Since the very maintainability of the writ petition itself has been questioned by way of a preliminary objection, same is taken up first for a decision inasmuch as if the objection is upheld, the other issues raised in the writ petition need not be gone into.

(2.) The facts leading to filing of the writ petition are not in dispute. The petitioner who was appointed as Assistant Teacher of the school in question way back in 1991 has been restrained from attending her duties and signing the Attendance Register as per the endorsement made by the Principal of the school on the representation dated 4.8.2003 made by the petitioner. As per the said endorsement, the petitioner was not allowed to sign the Attendance Register in term of the verbal instruction of the Principal and Secretary of the Association which runs the school. It is legality and validity of such an action on the part of the school management authority which has been challenged in this writ petition

(3.) The respondents in their affidavit-in-opposition has taken the stand that the school is being run by a society comprising of some members of the public of the locality and it is only with the help and assistance of some well-wishers and members of the society and teachers the school is being managed. As per the averments made in the writ petition the school has not yet got recognition of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) or any other Board or authority and thus the students are not being sent for HSLC Examination as regular students and are only being sent through other recognised schools. As regards the financial position of the school, it has been averred in the affidavit that the same is not sound and the teachers salary etc are being paid depending upon fund generated from tuition fees paid by the students. In the affidavit, the factum of reduction in establishment and abandonment of Hindi medium and gradual cessation of the Assamese medium leaving only the English medium as the sole medium of instruction necessitating reduction in staff strength has been highlighted. According to the stand in the affidavit such reduction in staff strength required dispensation of the services of the petitioner along with another teacher. Finally in the above back drop it is the stand of the respondents that the school and for that matter the Association which has been running the school is not an authority so as to be included within the meaning of the State as envisaged under Article 12 of the Constitution of India. It is on this count the very maintainability of the writ petition has been questioned.