JAYACHANDRA REDDY, J.

( 1 ) THIS writ appeal is directed against the order of our learned brother P. A. Chowdhary. J. The writ petition was filed seeking a writ or order or direction in the nature of Mandamus declaring the order of termination of the petitioners service dated 23/10/1979 as illegal and void and without jurisdiction, and to direct the respondent, viz. , the Administrative Staff College of India, to reinstate him in service.

( 2 ) A preliminary objection was taken on behalf of the Administrative Staff College that the writ is not maintainable in as much as the Administrative Staff College of India is not an authority as to come within the meaning of "state" under Article 12 of the Constitution of India. The learned single Judge, after referring to various decisions, held that the Administrative Staff College of India should be regarded as "state" within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution and is thus amenable to writ jurisdiction, and then he quashed the impugned order.

( 3 ) IN this writ appeal Sri V. R. Reddy, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant, viz. , the Administrative Staff College, submitted that the College is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act and is not a statutory corporation like the Life Insurance Corporation, etc. which are created under statutes, and the mere fact that the Education Secretary of the Government of India is one of the members of the Court of Governors, or the further fact that the College is receiving assistance from the Government, does not impress the college with any statutory character and therefore the writ is not maintainable. It is also submitted that the relationship between the College and the employee is purely that of master and servant and no writ petition is maintainable by an employee for a declaration of reinstatement in case of termination of service.

( 4 ) TO appreciate these rival contentions it becomes necessary to refer to the circumstances and the manner under which the College was established, the Memorandum of Association and the Rule governing the College. The idea of establishing this College dates back to a visit of the then Finance Minister Sri T. T. Krishnamachari to the Administrative Staff College at Honely-on Thames in the U. K. in 1948. Later on, the recommendation of the All India Council for Technical Education was accepted by the Government and the then Education Minister, Sri Moulana Abul Kalam Azad, appointed a Planning Committee to pursue the same. The Planning Committee was chaired by Sri T. T. Krishnamachari who piloted it in the Government for implementation and the Administrative Staff College eventually took shape in its actual establishment in the year 1957 at Hyderabad. The Minutes of the 64th meeting of the Court of Governors held in Hyderabad on 6/12/1974 show.- "the College should play a greater role in the area of Public Administration/public policy/developmental administration and should also exhibit sensitivity to the problems of the changing situation scene in the country. As a national institute in the filed of Management Development its involvement in the national scene and national problems should be on a pro-active basis rather than on a re-active basis. The College should develop an ASCI View on all-India polices". As on 31/03/1980 the Court of Governors consisted of 30 in number of whom the Principal and the Vice - Principal were the appointees to the College. There are six Secretaries to the Government of India. Apart from that, the Chairman, State Bank of India, a Scientist from the Central Leather Research Institute, the Director General of National Council of Applied Economic Research, the Managing Director, I. D. L. Chemicals Ltd. , and the Chairman of Nagarjuna Fertilisers Ltd. are the members of the Court of Governors. The College receives grants from the Government of India and also Ford Foundation Grant. The Memorandum of Association and the Rules contain the objects for

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