Madras High Court

Islamiah Higher Secondary School vs State Of Tamil Nadu on 7 December, 2021

                                                                  W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021



                                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

                                               DATED: 07.12.2021

                                                       CORAM

                                   THE HONOURABLE Mr.JUSTICE V. PARTHIBAN

                                  W.P.No.11855, 11857 & 11862 of 2021
                                                    and
                       WMP.No.12604, 12605, 12606, 12607,12609, 12610, 12612, 12613 &
                                              12614 of 2021

                     Islamiah Higher Secondary School
                     Represented by its Correspondent,

Peranambut Vellore District ...Petitioner in three W.Ps.

Versus

1.State of Tamil Nadu, Represented by its Secretary, School Education Department, Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009.

2.Director of School Education, DPI Campus Chennai 600 009.

3. The Chief Educational Officer, Vellore District.

4. The District Educational Officer Vellore District ... Respondents

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W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021

Prayers in W.P.No.11855 of 2021: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking for a Writ of Mandamus, calling for the records of the 4th respondent in Na.Ka.No.1114/A4/2021 dated 19.04.2021 and quash the same and consequently direct the respondents to approve the appointment of Thiru.V.Surendranath to the post of BT Assistant Science with effect from 01.06.2019 with all monetary and service benefit in accordance with the judgment of the Hon'ble Division Bench in Writ Appeal Nos (MD) 76, 225, 341 of 2019 etc dated 31.03.2021.

Prayers in W.P.No.11857 of 2021: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking for a Writ of Mandamus, calling for the records of the 4th respondent in Na.Ka.No.1115/A4/2021 dated 19.04.2021 and quash the same and consequently direct the respondents to approve the appointment of Thiru.Thaneerul Haque to the post of BT Assistant English with effect from 01.06.2020 with all monetary and service benefit in accordance with the judgment of the Hon'ble Division Bench in Writ Appeal Nos (MD) 76, 225, 341 of 2019 etc dated 31.03.2021.

Prayers in W.P.No.11862 of 2021: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking for a Writ of Mandamus, calling for the records of the 4th respondent in Na.Ka.No.1116/A4/2021 dated 19.04.2021 and quash the same and consequently direct the respondents to approve the appointment of Thiru.S.S.Atheeque Ahmed to the post of BT Assistant Mathematics with effect from 08.07.2020 with all monetary

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W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021

and service benefit in accordance with the judgment of the Hon'ble Division Bench in Writ Appeal Nos (MD) 76, 225, 341 of 2019 etc dated 31.03.2021.

                              For Petitioner        : Ms. Dakshayani Reddy
                              in all W.Ps

                              For Respondents       : Mr.Abishek Murthy
                              in all W.Ps             Government Advocate for R1 to R4


                                               COMMON ORDER

These writ petitions have been filed challenging the

proceedings of the 4th respondent herein rejecting the proposal for

approval for appointment of the teachers as BT Assistant in Science, BT

Assistant in Mathematics and BT Assistant in English. The petitioner

school was established in the year 1948 as a religious Muslim Minority

Institution. In 2019, the petitioner school faced with the vacancy due to

retirement of the incumbent teachers and the school had filled up the

posts / vacancies by appointing the teachers on the basis of their selection

with effect from 01.06.2019, 01.06.2020 and 08.07.2020 respectively.

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W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021

2. The posts, in which the teachers were appointed, were

sanctioned posts well within the cadre strength as fixed by the

Educational Authorities. Thereafter, a proposal was forwarded to the 4 th

respondent seeking approval for the appointment of the teachers by the

petitioner school. The petitioner school being a minority school, Teacher

Eligibility Test was not required in terms of the ruling of the Hon'ble

Supreme Court of India and this Court. When the proposal was sent to

the fourth respondent, instead of approving the appointment, fourth

respondent has rejected the same vide proceedings dated 19.04.2021,

which is the subject matter of challenge in the present writ petitions.

3. The learned counsel for writ petitioners Ms.Dakshayani

Reddy would submit that when the proposal was rejected by the

impugned order dated 19.04.2021, the reasons that were set forth in the

order relate to the certain interim orders passed in a batch of writ appeals

in W.A.(MD).Nos.76 of 2019 etc., pending before this Court. In fact, the

interim order was in relation to the schools, which are administered by

Corporate management wherein the Courts have ruled that the vacancies

in all such schools not to be filled up unless excess staff under the same

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W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021

corporate or joint management was exhausted fully. But as far as the

petitioner school is concerned, it is the stand alone institution and there is

no legal bar in filling up its vacancies within the sanctioned strength.

4. The learned counsel would submit that the Hon'ble Division

Bench has finally disposed of all the writ appeals by passing final orders

on 31.03.2021. This Court's attention has been drawn to the ruling of the

Division Bench as found in sub-paragraph (v) of paragraph 95, which

reads as follows:-

“(v) Like that insofar as aided minority institutions are concerned,if it is a stand alone institution, their right of appointing a teacher in a vacancy within the sanctioned strength for the academic year 2021-22 shall not be affected because of the identified excess teachers in other schools. At the same time, even if the school is a minority institution, however being administered by a joint management or corporate management, in respect of those schools, even though vacancy arose within the sanctioned strength of such school or schools under corporate management or joint management, those vacancies shall not be filled up unless the excess staff identified in all other schools under the same corporate or joint management are exhausted fully and only after exhausting the redeployment process on all excess teachers identified in the group of schools under the same

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W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021

corporate management, they shall be free to make appointment afresh from open market in the vacancy if any still, within the sanctioned strength."

5. The Hon'ble Division Bench has clearly held that as far as

the stand alone institutions are concerned, their right to appoint a teacher

in a vacancy within the sanctioned strength shall not be affected because

of the employment of excess teachers in other schools. In view of the

clear and categoric ruling of the Division Bench, the rejection of the

fourth respondent is liable to be interfered with as it is contrary to the

judgement passed by the Division Bench.

6. The learned Government Advocate appearing for the

respondents would state that the fact that the petitioner school is a stand

alone institution is not in dispute and he would also submit that the

decision of the Division Bench with regard to stand alone institutions

may have to be applied to the present claim of the petitioner school.

7. In view of the admitted legal position, these writ petitions

are allowed and the impugned orders dated 19.04.2021 are hereby set

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W.P.No.11855, 11857 and 11862 of 2021

aside and the fourth respondent is directed to process the proposal

forwarded by the school in respect of the appointment of the teachers

covered under the present writ petitions and pass appropriate orders