Mrs. Meena Shivanand Singh vs The Secretary, Hindi Prachar ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 6293 Bom

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                    IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                            CIVIL APPELLATE  JURISDICTION
    
                    WRIT PETITION NO.9308 OF 2017
                                            
Mrs. Meena Shivanand Singh                   ...    Petitioner   
      Versus         
The Secretary, 
Hindi Prachar Mandal And Others              ...    Respondents
 
                                    ..... 
Mr. R.S. Apte i/b Mr. Mayuresh S. Lagu for the Petitioner.

                                                .....

                                           CORAM :  PRASANNA B. VARALE, J.

                                           DATE     :  16 AUGUST 2017 

P.C. :
 
.            Heard learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner. 


2            The   limited   issue   is   involved   in   the   present   petition.     Learned 

Presiding Officer, School Tribunal, New Mumbai, by an order dated 31 July 2017, allowed the application filed by Respondent Nos.1 and 2 raising objection to the maintainability of the appeal proceedings on the ground of jurisdiction. The application was allowed. An appeal filed by the Petitioner was disposed of for want of jurisdiction. In the earlier round of litigation, the parties were before this Court and in view of the consent terms between the parties, the matter was remitted back to the Learned Presiding officer. The submission of the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner is that though the material was placed before the Learned Presiding Officer

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of the School Tribunal, namely, a communication dated 13 June 2017, under the Right to Information Act, stating therein that there is no record in respect of grant of minority status to the said institute, namely, Hindi Prachar Mandal, the Learned Presiding Officer, School Tribunal, only on the basis of a report dated 23 June 2016, endorsed by the Administrative Officer, Education Board, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, arrived at the conclusion that the school is run by minority institution. Learned Counsel submitted that the Administrative Officer is not authority in respect of granting status of minority institution and as such, a report with the endorsement of Administrative Officer, Education Board, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, could not have been a decisive factum for assessing the status of the institution being minority institution or otherwise. As this being a limited controversy, issue Notice to the Respondents, returnable after six weeks.

3 Learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner was protected in the earlier round of litigation and invited my attention to a copy of the consent terms placed on record at page 52, more particularly, clause-5 of the consent terms. In view of this, no coercive steps prejudicial to the service of the Petitioner be taken until further orders of this Court.

(PRASANNA B. VARALE, J.)