Dr. A.R. Lakshmanan, J. Heard Mr. Govindh K. Bharathan, Mr. P. Ramakrishnan and the learned Government Pleader.

2. Writ Appeal No. 325 of 1994 was filed by the Vice President of the Parent Teachers Association, V.V.P. High School, Palakkad against the judgment in O.P. No. 3772 of 1989 dated 7.6.1993, which was filed by the additional 5th respondent R. Janaki Ammal, who was the Manager of the School.

3. Writ Appeal No. 456 of 1994 was filed by the State of Kerala and the Director of Public Instruction, Trivandrum and another against the very same judgment impleading the then manager R. Janaki Animal as R1 and the Headmistress of the school as R2 and the President of the Parent Teacher Association as R3 and one V.N. Prameswaran, who is the owner and proprietor of the school and the son of the then Manager Janaki Ammal.

4.O.P. No. 3772/89 was filed by R. Janaki Ammal with the following prayers:

"i) issue a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to return the buildings, furniture, accessories etc. of the school to the petitioner on expiry of 31.5.1989;

ii) issue a writ of certiorari quashing the decision of the government proposing to take over the management of the V.V.P. High School, Palakkad;

iii) issue an ad-interim order of stay of all further proceedings for taking over the management of the school and the consequent admission of the students for the academic year 1989-90, pending disposal of the Original Petition;

iv) issue such other writ, order or direction as this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper in the circumstances of the case;

v) to call for the records leading to the issue of Ext. P4 notification and quash the same by the issue of a writ of certiorari and other appropriate writ, order or direction; and

vi) to quash Ext. P5 order by the issue of a writ of certiorari or such other appropriate writ, order or direction".

According to her she became the Manger of the School in the year 1960 and because of old age and other financial difficulties she was no longer in a position to run the school effectively and the maintenance grant of Rs. 2,000/- per year for the school is hardly sufficient to make both ends meet and that the portions of the building of the school have become dilapidated posing a grave threat to the life of the students, which fact had been reported as early as in the year 1976 by the officials of the PWD to the District Educational officer and that many walls of the building are leaning to one side and are beyond repairs. Under such circumstances, the petitioner had no other option but to take steps for the closure of the school. She issued a notice to the Director of Public Instructions disclosing her intention to close down the school with effect from 1.6.1989 as contemplated under S.7(6) of the Kerala Education Act and R.24(1) Chap. V of the Kerala Education Rules. After a lapse of about seven months from the date of issuing the notice under Ext. P1, she was served with an intimation requesting her to be present at the school on 16.1.89 for an enquiry in regard to the closure of the school. She participated in the enquiry, but nothing was heard thereafter. While so, she came across a news item published in the Malayala Manorama daily dated 20.4.1989 to the effect that the management of the school had been taken over by the Government for a period of five years. The said news item published in the Malayala Manorama daily dated 20.4.1989 is produced and marked as Ext. P3. However, she had not been served with any order or intimation in that regard. She was not afforded any opportunity to show cause against the proposed take over of the management of the school. Even the order directing the take over of the school has not been served on her. The Government have in purported exercise of the powers conferred by S.14(2) of the Kerala Education Act read with R.1(5) Chap. XX of the Kerala Education Rules issued a notification taking over the management of the V.V.P. High School, Palakkad