Section 24 of the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board Act, 1981 is ultra vires Article 30 (1) of the Constitution of India because it takes away the disciplinary power of the Managing Committee of the minority institution and confers appellate power on the Board.

S.B. Sinha, J.

This writ petition involves an interesting question of law relating to the vires of Section 24 of the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board Act, 1981 (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity as 'the Act'). The petitioners in this writ application have also questioned the validity and legality of the order of the Chairman, Bihar Madrasa Education Board (respondent no. 3) dated 11.10.1982 as contained in Annexure-8 to the writ application as also the order contained in the letter dated 12.10.1983 issued by the Secretary, Bihar State Madrasa Education Board (respondents no. 4) addressed to the Secretary, Madarsa Mutahul Oloom, Semrhaia (petitioner no. 2) as contained in Annexure-11 to the writ application.

2. The facts of the case lie in a very narrow compass. The petitioner no. 1, which is a Muslim Minority organisation of the people of village semrhaia situated in the district of East Champaran established a Makhtab in June, 1940, and the same was developed and in 1946 converted into a Madrasa known as 'Madrasa Misbahul Oloom'.

According to the petitioners the Madrasa aforementioned is a minority institution and imparts religious and secular education from primary up to Aalim standard in Arbic, Persian Urdu languages and also provides for teaching Hindi and English languages in accordance with its syllabus. The Madrasa was recognised by the Bihar Madrasa Education Board in the year 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Board'). It is stated that the said Madrasa is controlled and managed by a Managing Committee constituted by the Anjuman with the Approval of the muslim public of the locality.

3. It has been further stated that the respondent no. 6 Md. Zafarullah was appointed as Head Maulvi the year 1978, of the said Madrasa. According to the petitioners, the respondent no. 6 had committed various acts of misconduct. The said fact has been stated in paragraph 11 of the writ petition, the relevant portion of which is quoted hereunder :-

"From some time past the respondent no. 6 has/had been acting against the interest of the institution which was prejudicial and detrimental to the maintenance of the proper functioning of the Madrasa and its education. He has been provoking and misleading the muslim public by making false propaganda not to contribute to the fund of the Madrasa. He has been spreading false allegation against the Members of the Managing Committee so much so that he had been even instigating the students to leave the Madrasa by creating chaos and confusion. He took away stealthily several valuable registers, documents including its constitution and papers of the Madrasa to his own house without any information/action to the Managing Committee."

4. According to the petitioners, a disciplinary proceeding was initiated against the respondent no. 6 and be was also suspended by the Managing Committee by a resolution adopted in this regard on 24.2.1983. The respondent no. 6 filed a writ petition in this Court being C.W.J.C. No. 1573 of 1983, for issuance of an appropriate writ for quashing the aforesaid Resolution dated 24.2.1983 and also for issuance of a writ of, or in the nature of mandamus forbearing the petitioners from interfering with the functioning of the respondent no. 6 as Head Maulvi of the said Madrasa. The writ petition after hearing the parties was dismissed by an order dated 10.8.1983 (vide Annexure-6).

After the disciplinary proceedings against the respondent no. 6 was completed the enquiry committee submitted its report dated 7th April 1983 as contained in Annexure-3 before the Managing Committee, wherefrom it would appear that the charges levelled against the respondent no. 6 were found to be true. Accordingly, the said committee recommended for dismissal of the respondent no. 6. Pursuant to and in furtherance of the afore-mentioned proceeding culminating in the said report (Annexure-3), the Managing Committee in its meeting dated 10.4.1983 adopted a resolution to the ef