NAND KISHORE PRASAD AND OTHERS Vs. THE VICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a writ application for quashing the order of the Vice Chancellor of the Magadh University (hereinafter referred to as "the University") contained in a letter, dated the 14th April, 1971 a copy of which is annexure '3' to the writ petition, addressed by the Officer on Special Duty to the Principal, Bindeshwar Singh College, Dinapore, regarding the objections raised by the said Principal to the proceedings of the meetings of the Governing Body of the said College held on the 28th Nov., 1971 and the 27th Aug., 1972, and the objection regarding the membership of respondent No. 3 to the Governing Body of the said College. The petitioners have made a further prayer for a wit of mandamus commanding the respondent Vice-Chancellor and the respondent Officer on Special Duty not to recognise respondent No. 3 as a member of the Governing Body and for directing respondent no. 4, the Secretary of the Governing Body; not to allow respondent no. 3 to act as a member or President of the said Governing Body. Petitioners 1 to 5 claim to be the donors and petitioners 6 to 9 claim to be guardians of the students of the said College. As such, according to them, they are interested in the proper management and control of the said College.

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that the Governing Body, consisting of different categories of members, who constituted for the said College, but the said Governing Body was functioning in utter disregard of the rules, regulation and laws of the University, and respondent no. 3, who was acting as its President, was illegally acting as such in collusion with respondent no. 4. the Secretary of the Governing Body. According to the petitioners, on the 19th Sept., 1971, respondent no. 3 was nominated by the University as educationist-member on the Governing Body of the College for a period of three years. This date has been mentioned in the writ application by mistake for the 19th Aug., 1971. Respondent no. 3, according to the petitioners, attended the first meeting of the Governing Body on the 19th Sept., 1971, in which ha was elected as the President of the Governing Body. But, as respondent No. 3 was the Deputy Chairman of the Bihar State University Commission and there were objections at highest level against his becoming a member and President of a Governing Body, he was compelled to resign from the membership and President of the Governing Body of the said College. Since the date of resignation, respondent no. 3 never attended any meeting of the Governing Body till the 27th Aug., 1972. When about a year after, he came to attend the meeting of the Governing Body in which he was persuaded to withdraw his latter of resignation. According to the petitioners, respondent No 3, having renunciated the office of presidentship by tendering his resignation in writing to the secretary of the Governing Body, ceased to be a member of the Governing Body since that date and there was no question of withdrawal of the said letter of resignation in the meeting of the 27th Aug., 1972, and after having tendered his resignation, he was not entitled to participate in any meeting of the Governing Body after that date.

(3.) In support of the assertion that respondent No. 3 ceased to be a member of the Governing Body, it has also been alleged that under the Statutes is the University, if a member of a Governing Body absents himself from consecutive four meetings, ipso facto, he ceases to be a member of the Governing Body. According to the petitioners, respondent no 3, after the 19th Sept., 1971. did not attend four meetings of the Governing Body and on that account also he ceased to be a member and he was not entitled to participate in the meeting and to act as the President of the Governing Body on the 27th Aug., 1972. In the writ application the petitioners have alleged that the Secretary, respondent no. 4, in collusion with respondent no. 3, was mismanaging the affairs of the College and they were abusing their powers for their own interests. On the aforesaid allegations, the petitioners have prayed for the reliefs mentioned above.