B.P.SINHA, J.

(1) THIS petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution is directed against certain orders passed by officers of the Bihar government in the Education Department, in respect of the Parsa High English School, and prays for an appropriate writ, direction or order restraining their from taking possession of the school, or in any way, interfering with the internal management of the said school. The first petitioner, Shri Dwarka Nath Tewari, M. P., claims to be the President of the Managing Committee of the school, the second petitioner, Shri Murlidhar Pandey, to be the secretary, and the petitioners 3 to 6, to be members of the Managing Committee of the school. The 7th and the last petitioner is the Parsa High English School through the secretary, Managing Committee. The State of Bihar is the first respondent, and the Board of Education, Bihar, is the second respondent. Respondents 3, 4 and 5 are officers of the government, who have been constituted an ,ad hoc Committee pending the constitution of the Managing Committee of the school, according to the rules laid down in the Education Code.

(2) THE application is founded on the following allegations : In 1931, in pursuance of a unanimous resolution of the local public of Parsa, Thana head-quarters in the District of Saran in Bihar, a Managing Committee was formed with the first petitioner as its secretary and other persons as members of the Committee, to raise subscriptions for, and to manage, the proposed High English School at Parsa. The school was started in,; 1932, by subscriptions raised from amongst the residents of villages round about the Parsa police station. The first petitioner claims to have made a substantial contribution to the funds of the school, in several instalments totalling over Rs. 11,000.00. The day-to-day management of the school was entrusted to a Managing Committee consisting of 11 members, including teachers representatives, the Head Master for the time being, and subscribers representatives. The Managing Committee purchased several plots of land in the name of the secretary on behalf of the Managing Committee, and constructed the school building on the said land. Thus, the Managing Committee claim to be the owners of the school and of the land and buildings. The school is open to persons of all castes and creeds, and nominal tuition fees were charged 10 per cent., of the total strength of the students, were granted free studentships. In 1935, the school was given recognition by the Biliar government. In 1950, the Managing Committee of the school was asked by the government not to charge any fees from Harijan students, and to raise the percentage of free studentships from 10 to 15 per cent of the total strength of the school. The government also requested the school not to charge any fees from students in the 4th and 5th classes (Primary classes). The government gave an. annual grant to the school, amounting to between two and three thousand rupees. In 1952, the government also requested the school authorities that higher salary should be paid to the teachers, the government undertaking to meet the extra cost thus to be incurred. Prior to June 1954 the Managing Committee of the school did not contain any nominees. After June 1954, the Bihar government Education Code was amended so as to require the inclusion of government nominees, guardians representatives, subscribers representatives and donors in the Managing Committee of the school. About the same time, changes were made in the service conditions of teachers in the schools, enabling a teacher, who is punished by a Managing Committee, to prefer an appeal to the Education Department. The said change was made without any consultation with the school authorities who were not apprised of the changed rules. The then Head Master of the school, named Sheo Kumar Misra Sharma, on coming to know of the new changed rules about the service conditions of teachers, "began to show discourtesy