The petitioners state that respondent No.2, namely The Alpha Foundation, is a Department of respondent No.1, namely The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), which is an educational society established under the ICFAI University Act. They further state that respondent No.1-ICFAI, apart from imparting university education, also runs schools for imparting formal education to the down trodden in the name and style of "ICFAI Republic Schools" in several States, including the State of Andhra Pradesh, and that all these schools are recognized by the Government of Andhra Pradesh under the A.P. Education Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as `the Education Act'). That respondent No.2, which is a Department of respondent No.1, looks after the day-to-day management of the said schools. Respondent No.2 entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Andhra Pradesh under public Private partnership programme.

2. Respondent No.2 conducts various) projects like, Health, Nutrition, Non-formal Education, vocational Training programmes etc. in the said schools. For the purpose of supervising and executing the said projects, he petitioners state that respondent No.1 recruits Coordinators, Project Officers, assistant Project Officers, and deputes them a work under respondent No.2. Accordingly, or the said purpose, the petitioners state respondent No.1 initially appointed them on contract basis as

Project Officer, coordinator, Project Officer, Assistant project Officer, Project Officer and Assistant project Officer respectively for a period of one year. Thereafter, based on their performance. respondent No.2 vide proceedings dated 30.10.2007, placed the petitioners in their respective positions on contract basis for a period upto 31.12.2012 on certain terms and conditions, which was renewable by mutual consent.

2. 3. While workingas such, respondent No.2 vide proceedings dated 30.09.2008 transferred the petitioners to their Regional Offices located at Agartala/Dimapur/Gangtok. The petitioners state that they expressed their difficulties in joining at their respective transferred place and requested respondent No.2 to retain them at the present place. However, respondent No. 2 vide proceedings dated 25.10.2008 terminated the services of the petitioners w.e.f. 30.09.2008. Questioning the said termination orders, issued by respondent No.2 as illegal and arbitrary, violative of principles of natural justice and without following the procedure contemplated under Section 79 of the Education Act, the petitioners filed the present writ petitions.

3. 4. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that respondent No.1 runs schools in the name and style of "ICFAI Republic Schools" for imparting formal education in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The schools run by respondent No.1 are recognized by the Government under the Education Act, and in fact, they also receive aid from the Government of Andhra Pradesh for running of the said schools in the form of infrastructure. Respondent No.2 is a Department of respondent No.1, created for supervising the day-to-day management of the schools run by it, which inter alia, has been established to take up various projects like Health, Nutrition, Non-formal Education, Vocational Training Programmes etc., and since the petitioners are engaged for supervision of the said projects, which are connected to the running of the schools established by respondent No.1, the learned counsel contends that notwithstanding the designation of the petitioners Coordinator/ Project Officers/Assistant Project Officers, they come under the non-teaching staff of the schools.

4. 5. He submitted that since the activities/ programmes undertaken/conducted by respondent No.2 are for the benefit of the said schools, and the said schools having been recognized under the provisions of the Education Act, the petitioners having been engaged for undertaking/conducting the said activities/programmes