Madras High Court
D.Arun vs State Of Tamil Nadu on 7 January, 2021
1 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 07.01.2021
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN
W.P.(MD)No.17835 of 2020
and
W.M.P.(MD)No.14870 of 2020
D.Arun ... Petitioner
Vs.
1. State of Tamil Nadu,
Rep. by its Principal Secretary to Government,
Department of Health and Family Welfare,
Fort St. George, Chennai – 9.
2. State of Tamil Nadu,
Rep. by its Principal Secretary to Government,
Department of School Education,
Fort St. George, Chennai -9.
3. The Director of Medical Education,
O/o. The Directorate of Medical Education,
162, Periyar E.V.R. High Road,
Kilpauk, Chennai – 600 010.
4. The Selection Committee,
Rep.by the Secretary/Additional Director,
Directorate of Medical Education,
162, Periyar E.V.R. High Road,
Kilpauk, Chennai – 600 010.
5. The Director of School Education,
O/o. The Director of School Education,
DPI Campus, College Road, Chennai – 6.
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2 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
6.The Chief Educational Officer,
O/o. The Chief Educational Officer,
Thanjavur, Thanjavur District.
7.The District Collector cum Chairman,
Chattram Administration,
Collectorate, Thanjavur District.
8.The Special Tahsildar,
Chattram Administration,
Thanjavur District.
9.The Headmaster,
Rajah's Higher Secondary School,
Thanjavur – 613 009. ... Respondents
Prayer: Writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Certiorarified
Mandamus, to call for the records pertaining to the impugned
order in Na.Ka.No.2139/D3/2020 dated 11.11.2020 on the file
of the respondent No.6 and quash the same as illegal and
consequently for a direction, directing the respondents 3 and 4
to admit the petitioner in the MBBS Course based on his NEET
marks in any of the Government Medical College in accordance
with the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Courses in
Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy on
preferential basis to students of Government Schools Act, 2020
(Tamil Nadu Act No.34 of 2020) and in the light of the Judgment
of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in S.Krishna Sradha V. State of
Andhra Pradesh reported in (2019) SCC Online SC 1609 within
the time period stipulated by this Court.
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3 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
For Petitioner : Mr.T.Aswin Rajasimman,
for Mr.T.Lajapathi Roy.
For R-1 to R-4 : Mr.Vijay Narayan, Advocate General
and
Mr.M. Sricharan Ranagarajan,
Additional Advocate General
assisted by Mr.K.P.Krishnadoss,
Special Government Pleader.
For R-5 to R-9 : Mrs.S.Srimathi,
Special Government Pleader and
Ms.J.Lakshmi Prasanna,
Government Advocate.
ORDER
The writ petitioner underwent his schooling from sixth
standard to twelfth standard in Rajah's Higher Secondary
School, Thanjavur. He scored 1003 marks out of 1200 in the
Higher Secondary examinations and 238 marks in the National
Eligibility cum Entrance Test(UG) – 2020. He belongs to
Scheduled Caste. His parents are eking out their livelihood by
running a roadside eatery on a pushcart. His request for
issuance of Bonafide Certificate certifying that he studied in a
Government school for the purpose of availing the benefit of
reservation provided under the Tamil Nadu Act No.34 of 2020
was negatived by the the Chief Educational Officer, Thanjavur,
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4 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
vide communication bearing Na.Ka.No.2139/D3/2020 dated
11.11.2020. Questioning the same, this writ petition has been
filed.
2.The respondents have opposed the prayer made in the
writ petition. Their stand is that Rajah's Higher Secondary
School, Thanjavur is an aided private school and not a
government school. It is managed by an entity known as
Chattram Administration. The District Educational Officer,
Thanjavur, passes monthly grant bills for the teaching and non-
teaching staff. They are not considered as government servants.
It has a school committee and the provisions of Tamil Nadu
Recognized Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973 and the Rules
framed thereunder are applicable to it. This being the factual
position, the petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought for.
3.The learned Advocate General took me through the
provisions of Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Courses
in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine and Homeopathy on
Preferential basis to Students of Government Schools Act,
2020(hereinafter referred to as “the Act”). It was promulgated to
ensure equitable distribution of medical seats for the
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5 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
Government school students who are socially and economically
disadvantaged and who have qualified in the National Eligibility
Cum Entrance Test. The Act defines the expression “government
schools”. It is an exhaustive definition and it is not for the
Court to expand its scope. He wanted me to bear in mind the
principle of “ejusdem generis” while interpreting the provision.
Merely because the government officials are associated with the
administration of the school, that would not mean that the
school is managed by the government departments. According
to him, the categories of government school and private school
are mutually exclusive. One cannot be the other. When Rajah's
Higher Secondary School has always been treated as a private
school, the impugned order rejecting the petitioner's request
does not warrant any interference.
4.The issue that arises for my consideration is whether
the writ petitioner is entitled to claim the benefit under Tamil
Nadu Act 34 of 2020. For that, it must be shown that he studied
in a government school. The expressions “Government schools”
and “Students studied in Government schools” have been
defined in Section 2(c) and 2(d) of the Act as follows :
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6 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
“2. ..
(a) ..
(b) ..
(c)“Government schools” mean and
includes Government schools, Corporation
schools, Municipal schools, Adi Dravidar
and Tribal Welfare schools, Kallar
Reclamation schools, Forest Department
schools and other schools managed by
Government Departments.
(d)Students studied in Government
schools” mean children who have studied
from Sixth Standard to Higher Secondary
Course in a Government school and
qualified in the National Eligibility-cum-
Entrance Test.”
Private school has been defined in Section 2(h) as a school which
is not a government school. It is relevant to note here that the
Act does not borrow or refer to the definition of a private school
set out in Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973.
The Act does not say that the schools governed by the Tamil
Nadu Recognized Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973 will fall
within Section 2(h). While government schools have been
positively defined in Section 2(c), private school has been
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7 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
negatively defined in Section 2(h). To find out whether the
school in question is a government school or not, I have to go by
the definitions set out in the Tamil Nadu Act No.34 of 2020 and
not venture outside. This is all the more so because the Act
contains an overriding provision. Section 3 of the Act states that
notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being
in force and subject to Section 5, seven and a half per cent of the
Government seats shall be set apart on preferential basis to
students studied in Government schools. If the petitioner is
treated as a student who studied in the government school
within the meaning of Section 2(d), then he is entitled to claim
the benefit of the Act notwithstanding the application of the
provisions of Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973
to the school in question all along.
5.The question whether Rajah's Higher Secondary
School, Thanjavur is a government school has to be answered by
referring to the position presently obtaining. Its historical origins
are not much relevant. The fact remains that the administration
was vested in the District Board and following its abolition in the
year 1961, it came under the control of the District
Administration vide G.O (Ms) No.2184, Rural Development and
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8 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
Local Administration, dated 04.08.1961. As rightly contended
by the learned counsel for the petitioner, this position has been
accepted by the Government itself in an earlier writ proceeding
(order dated 30.04.2010 in WP No.12308 of 2005, C.Palanisamy
vs. State of Tamil Nadu).
6.It is true that there is a school committee. But it is
the District Collector, Thanjavur who is the President. The
Special Tahsildar is the Secretary. The members inter alia
include the District Revenue Officer, P.A. to District Collector
(General) and P.A. to District Collector (Accounts). The
membership is in ex-officio capacity. What matters in law is
substance and not the form. When construing documents, it is
not the nomenclature or the form that is determinative but the
content. Even in the case of incorporated companies, the veil is
lifted to ascertain the true character of the management in
certain circumstances.
7.The school no doubt has been treated as a private
school under Tamil Nadu Recognized Private Schools(Regulation)
Act, 1973. Its staff are not Government servants. But the fact
remains that it is managed by the Revenue Department/District
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9 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
Administration. It is funded entirely by the Government. That
the Chattram Administration is managed by the Special
Tahsildar indicates the true character of the administration. The
key word occurring in Section 2(c) is “managed by government
department”. This statutory definition will have to receive a
purposive construction. The object of enacting this legislation is
to extend the benefit of reservation to economically
disadvantaged students who have passed out of Government
schools. Therefore, I have to adopt such a construction as would
effectuate the legislative object. The petitioner belongs to
Scheduled Caste community. The school is a Tamil Medium
school. More than anything else, it was the Special Tahsildar
who wrote to the Education Department seeking issuance of
Bonafide Certificate certifying that the petitioner was a student
who studied in government school. This clinches the issue in
favour of the petitioner.
8.When the writ petition came up for admission on
23.12.2020, the learned Judge felt that the petitioner must be
considered as a student who studied in government school and
gave interim direction to keep one seat vacant. During
counselling, the petitioner was allotted M.B.B.S. seat in
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10 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
Sivagangai Medical College subject to the result of the writ
petition. Since I have held that the Rajah's Higher Secondary
school, Thanjavur, is a Government school within the meaning of
Section 2(c), the seat allocation made in favour of the writ
petitioner is made absolute.
9.The order impugned in this writ petition stands
quashed. This writ petition stands allowed. No costs.
Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
07.01.2021
Index : Yes / No
Internet : Yes/ No
skm
Note: In view of the present lock down owing
to COVID-19 pandemic, a web copy of the
order may be utilized for official purposes, but,
ensuring that the copy of the order that is
presented is the correct copy, shall be the
responsibility of the advocate/litigant
concerned.
To:
1. The Principal Secretary to Government,
Department of Health and Family Welfare,
Fort St. George, Chennai – 9.
2. The Principal Secretary to Government,
Department of School Education,Fort St. George, Chennai -9.
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11 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
3. The Director of Medical Education,
O/o. The Directorate of Medical Education,
162, Periyar E.V.R. High Road, Kilpauk, Chennai – 600 010.
4. The Selection Committee,
Rep. by the Secretary/Additional Director,
Directorate of Medical Education,
162, Periyar E.V.R. High Road,
Kilpauk, Chennai – 600 010.
5. The Director of School Education,
O/o. The Director of School Education,
DPI Campus, College Road, Chennai – 6.
6. The Chief Educational Officer,
O/o. The Chief Educational Officer,
Thanjavur, Thanjavur District.
7. The District Collector cum Chairman,
Chattram Administration,
Collectorate, Thanjavur District.
8. The Special Tahsildar,
Chattram Administration,
Thanjavur District.
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12 W.P.(MD)NO.17835 OF 2020
G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J.
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W.P.(MD)No.17835 of 2020
07.01.2021
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