IMPORTANT POINT
In case of termination of an employee of a recognized institution prior approval of Director of Education or an officer authorised by him in this behalf has to be obtained.

JUDGMENT :

M.R. Shah, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 06.05.2022 passed by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan Bench at Jaipur in D.B. Special Appeal Writ Nos. 1077/2005 (filed by the management) and 826/2011 (filed by the employee), by which the Division Bench of the High Court has allowed the appeal preferred by the respondent(s) herein - management and has quashed and set aside the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge and the order passed by the learned Tribunal quashing and setting aside the order of termination dated 06.08.1998 and consequently upheld the same, the employee has preferred the present appeals.

2. The facts leading to the present appeals in a nutshell are as under: -

2.1 That the appellant herein - employee was serving with respondent Nos. 1 and 2. A disciplinary enquiry was initiated against him under provisions of the Rajasthan Non-Governmental Educational Institutions Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the Act, 1989). That thereafter on conclusion of the departmental enquiry services of the appellant came to be terminated which was the subject matter of challenge before the learned Tribunal. The Tribunal set aside the order of termination by observing and holding that the prior approval of the Director of Education as mandatory under Section 18 of the Act, 1989 was not obtained. The learned Single Judge confirmed the order passed by the learned Tribunal. By the impugned judgment and order and despite the fact that the decision of this Court in the case of Raj Kumar Vs. Director of Education and Ors., (2016) 6 SCC 541 dealt with the pari materia provisions of the Delhi School Education Act (hereinafter referred to as the DSE Act), taking the view that before termination of an employee, prior approval of the Director of Education is mandatory and required, the Division Bench of the High Court has not followed the decision of this Court in the case of Raj Kumar (supra) by erroneously observing that in the case of Raj Kumar (supra), this Court had not considered the earlier decision in the case of T.M.A. Pai Foundation Vs. State of Karnataka; (2002) 8 SCC 481. That thereafter, after following the decision of the Larger Bench of the High Court in the case of Central Academy Society Vs. Rajasthan Non-Govt. Educational Institutional Tribunal; (2010) 3 WLC 21 reading down Section 18 of the Act, 1989, observed that in case of a termination after the disciplinary enquiry/proceedings prior approval of the Director of Education is not required, the Division Bench of the High Court has allowed the writ appeal and has set aside the orders passed by the learned Tribunal as well as the learned Single Judge and has upheld the order of termination. That the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court is the subject matter of one of the present appeals. At this stage, it is required to be noted that letters patent appeal (D.B. Special Writ Appeal) No. 826/2011 was the subject matter of order dated 06.01.2011 passed by the learned Single Judge denying the case of the appellant for equal pay for equal work. However, since the termination order came to be upheld, thereafter, without further entering into the merits of the appeal, the Division Bench of the High Court has dismissed the said appeal, which is also the subject matter of one of the present appeals.

3. Now so far as the impugned judgment and order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court upholding the order of termination and quashing and setting aside the orders passed by the learned Tribunal and the learned Single Judge is concerned, it is vehemently submitted by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant - employee that as such the High Court has materially erred in not following the binding decision of this Court in the case of Raj Kumar (supra). It is submitted that though not permissible, observing and holding that the decision of this Court in the case of Raj