ARYA SAMAJ Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India the petitioners have prayed for quashing Annexure 9, purported inspection report of and the order contained therein made by respondent No. 4. After this writ petition was admitted for hearing a further order was issued by respondent No. 4 on 28.4.1982 and the petitioner, therefore, instituted an application for No. 4 on 28.4.1982, amendment of their writ petition by allowing them to challenge that order as contained in annexure 11, That was allowed. The validity of Annexure 11 also, therefore, is the subject-matter of this writ petition.

(2.) According to the petitioners, Dayanand Arya Vaidic Primary School was established by the members of the Arya Samaj, a religious minority, at East Plant Bastee in the town of Jamshedpur in the year 1935. The primary school was established from the financial help given by the members of that Samaj and it was being administered by them. Till 1964 the school existed at East Plant Bastee and as the Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd. wanted to demolish the entire East Plant Bastee, it allotted a new plot of land to the said School at Sonari. At a meeting of the Samaj it was decided to establish a Middle School at Sonari which was till then a primary school. A middle School, in pursuance of their regulation was established. By memo dated 1.12.1971 the Middle School was recognised. In 1980 the name of the Samaj which was till then known as Maharshi Dayanand Brajbhashi Samaj at Jamshedpur, was decided to be changed to Arya Samaj. The School was being run and administered by Arya Samaj and financial help for the same was also given by the members of that Samaj. Arya Samaj at Sonari is affiliated to Bihar Rajya Arya Pratinjdhi Sabha and the Bihar State Body approved the change of name of the Samaj from Maharshi Dayanand Brajbhashi Samaj to Arya Samaj. The school is managed by the governing Body elected from out of the members of the Arya Samaj.

(3.) On the basis of these averments made in the writ petition the petitioners claimed that they were entitled to the protection under Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution of India so far this Middle School is concerned and on 6.10.1980 the petitioners made an application to the appropriate authority for declaring the school as Religious Minority Institution. Respondent No. 3 by Annexure-6 dated 28.2.1981. asked respondent No. 4 to send his recommendation with regard to the application filed on behalf of the petitioners. Respondent No. 4 asked the petitioners to furnish some information which was complied on 22.5.1981 by Annexure 7. According to the petitioners the application so filed on behalf of the School has not yet been disposed of by the State Government.