The absolute nature of the right guaranteed under Art.30(1) and the limitations on legislative and executive interference with the management's right to appoint a Headmaster in a minority school.

1. Special leave granted.

2. The simple question in these appeals is this: Is the management of a minority school free to choose and appoint any qualified person as Headmaster of the school or whether such management is hedged by any legislative edict or executive fiat in doing so?

3. The above question arose when management of a school sought to appoint 4th respondent (P.M. Aboobacker) as Headmaster thereof. The school is "Emjay Vocational Higher Secondary School", Valliappalli Taluk, Calicut District, Kerala (hereinafter referred to as 'the school'). This move was stiffly resisted by the appellant who is the senior most teacher in the school. At his instance, the District Education Officer (D.E.O.) interfered but of no avail. Appellant thereupon filed a Writ Petition in the High Court of Kerala for a writ of mandamus to the management of the school to appoint him as Headmaster. Learned Single Judge of the High Court, who heard the writ petition, allowed it and issued a direction as prayed for by the appellant But a Division Bench of the High Court reversed that judgment and dismissed the Writ Petition. Hence, appellant has come up to this Court seeking special leave to appeal.

3. Some more facts will be advantageous to focus on the point in dispute,

4. Appellant was appointed as a teacher (High School Assistant - H.S.A.- as it is called) in the school on 3.6.1982, and in June 1991 he become the senior most teacher there. The post of Headmaster of the school fell vacant during that time. None in the teaching staff of the school, including the appellant, was qualified to be appointed as Headmaster then. One of the requisites for the post of Headmaster, as per the relevant rules, is that he must possess a minimum service qualification of 12 years of continuous graduate service. Appellant would have completed the said period of 12 years only in June 1994. None the less, appellant was put in charge as Headmaster of the school with the approval of the D.E.O, concerned. When appellant completed the required period for service qualification he pressed the management to appoint him as regular Headmaster. The D.E.O. also sent a communication to the management requesting them "to promote and appoint a qualified senior most HSA as Headmaster with immediate effect". But the management, instead of acceding to the aforesaid request, brought 4th respondent (who was a graduate teacher having larger period service than the appellant) from another school as per a transfer order which was approved by the department on 5.9.1994, and appointed him as Headmaster of the School. It was then that the appellant filed the Writ Petition for issuing appropriate directions including a direction to send 4th respondent back to the school where from he was brought.

5. Some undisputed factual features are these: The school was declared by the Government as a Muslim Minority Community School as per G.O. (RT) 2959/94/G. Edn. It is an aided school and is governed by the provisions of the Kerala Education Rules, 1958 (for short 'the Act') 4th respondent is qualified to be appointed as Headmaster on the date when he was appointed as such and he has longer service than the appellant as H.S.A., though he had such service in a different school. As per the relevant rules, when a teacher is transferred from one school to another his rank in a new school shall be fixed next below the junior most teacher in that school in the particular grade.

6. The contention of the appellant is that he being the senior most graduate teacher should necessarily have been appointed as the Headmaster and none else. He also contended that transfer of 4th respondent from another school was vitiated as approval for such transfer was made on the premise that he was being transferred to hold the post of Headmaster. The third contention is that as the vacancy of Headmaster arose before 2.8.1994, the post should have been filled up in accordance with Rules and the protection as minority sc