IMPORTANT POINT
Suspension orders without prior approval from the Director of Education lapse after 15 days, ensuring employee protection under the Delhi School Education Act.

JUDGMENT :

JYOTI SINGH, J.

1. Both these writ petitions have been filed by the Petitioners laying a challenge to their respective suspension orders, issued by Respondents No.1 and 2/Ramjas School, Anand Parvat (‘School’). Direction is sought to the School to pay full salary for the suspension periods along with all other consequential benefits. Since both petitions concern teachers of the same School and common questions of law are raised, with the consent of the parties they were heard together and are being decided by this common judgment.

W.P.(C) 12136/2023

2. Petitioner was employed with the School in July, 1991 as PGT (Biology) and her services were confirmed in 1993. Petitioner claims to be serving the School for the last 33 years prior to suspension without any complaint and with an unblemished record of service. Petitioner was appointed on various additional portfolios such as HOS, HOD (Science), Academic/Educational Co-ordinator and Administrative In-charge, reflecting her extraordinary work performance.

3. Pursuant to an e-mail and acknowledgement sent by the Petitioner herself, referring to a missing Court case file in the case of one Ritu Phore, a memorandum was issued to the Petitioner on 21.02.2023, calling upon her to give a written explanation with respect to the alleged gross misconduct in her capacity as a temporary HOS. Petitioner responded to the memorandum and rendered her explanation pointing out that she was not at fault for the reasons mentioned therein. This memorandum was followed by memorandums dated 03.03.2023 and 10.03.2023 on the same issue and finally the impugned suspension order dated 05.04.2023 was issued by the Chairman of the School, placing the Petitioner under suspension with immediate effect and it is this order which is the subject matter of challenge in the present writ petition.

W.P.(C) 12603/2023

4. Petitioner was employed as TGT in Science and Maths with the School in July, 1993 and her services were confirmed in the year 1995. Petitioner asserts that she worked with the School for 31 long years without any complaint and has an unblemished record of service till the passing of the impugned suspension order dated 17.04.2023. It is averred that Petitioner was appointed on several additional portfolios such as Educational Co-ordinator, Administrative In-charge, Transport In-charge, SMC Teacher Representative of the School, Disciplinary Committee Member in an inquiry proceeding against another suspended employee of the School. Petitioner lays a siege to the suspension order in the present writ petition.

COMMON CONTENTIONS OF THE PETITIONERS

5. The suspension orders were passed in violation of Section 8(4) of Delhi School Education Act and Rules, 1973 (‘DSEAR’) read with Rule 115 of DSEAR as no approval was taken from the Directorate of Education (‘DoE’) by the School, prior to passing of the said orders. Under the first Proviso to Section 8(4), it is open to the school management to suspend an employee without prior approval of the Director, if there is an imminent necessity due to reason of gross misconduct, but in that event, suspension shall remain in force only for a period of 15 days and unless it is approved by the Director before the expiry of the said period, the order shall lapse. In the instant case, there was no approval from the Director within 15 days from the dates of the suspension orders and thus the impugned orders lapsed on expiry of the prescribed period and cannot be enforced in law. To support this plea, reliance was placed on the judgment of the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Ruchi Malhotra v. Guru Nanak Public School & Ors., being W.P. (C) 3567/2019 decided on 09.12.2019, which was upheld by the Division Bench in Guru Nanak Public School and Another v. Ruchi Malhotra and Another, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 383 as well as on the judgment of this Court in Nisha Tyagi v. Seema Model School, 1997 SCC OnLine Del 224; Delhi Public School & Anr. v. Director of Education & Ors., 2002