The main legal principle established in the judgment is that the right of a religious minority to administer an educational institution of its choice, including the appointment of a Headmaster, is of paramount importance and any interference with this right, except for prescribing qualifications and experience, would violate the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.

VISWANATHA IYER, J.:- All these original petitions under Art.226 of the Constitution, involve a common question as to the right of a religious minority to appoint Headmasters of its choice, irrespective of seniority, in educational institutions established and administered by it. The minority concerned in these cases is Christian community. The minority educational agencies in question, who have established and are

administering various educational institutions in the State, have been required by the authorities functioning under the Kerala Education Act, 1958 (Act 6 of 1959) and the Rules framed thereunder, to appoint Headmasters in these institutions in accordance with seniority, as enjoined by R.44 of Chapter XIV-A of the Kerala Education Rules (the Rules, for short). The contention of the minority educational agencies who have filed these original petitions (except O.P. No. 4795 of 1989) (in some cases, along with their appointee Headmasters) is that R.44 makes an inroad into the rights of the minorities to administer educational institutions of their choice by insisting that appointments of Headmasters should "ordinarily" be according to seniority. O.P. No. 4795 of 1989. On the other hand, is a petition filed by two senior affected teachers for directions to the concerned minority educational agency to appoint Headmasters in their institutions in accordance with the oridinary rule of seniority prescribed in R.44. The case of these teachers is that R.44 is a regulatory measure, the provisions of which do not trench upon the fundamental right of the minority under Art.30(1) of the Constitution.

2. It will be advantageous at this stage to extract the relevant Constitutional and statutory provisions, namely Art.30(l) of the Constitution, Sub-sec. (2) of S.2 of the Act defining an "educational agency". Subsection (5) of S.2 of defining a "minority school", R.1 of Chapter III of the Rules which classifies private educational institutions and defines educational agencies, R.3 of ChapterIII requiring management of a school to be vested in a Manager and R.44 of Chapter XIVA (to which we shall hereinafter refer as R.44).

"Article 30(1) All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice."

"Section 2(2) "educational agency" means any person or body of persons permitted to establish and maintain any private school under this Act."

"Section 2(5) "minority school" means schools of their choice established and administered, or administered, by such minorities as have the right to do so under Cl. (1) of Art.30 of the Constitution."

"Rule 1 of Chapter III Classification of Private Educational Institutions:- Private Educational Institutions may be classified into two categories viz. (i) those under individual Educational Agency and (ii) those under Corporate Educational Agency. Where the right to conduct the school is vested in an individual in his own right or as the legal representative of a joint family, the Educational Agency shall be termed "Individual Educational Agency" and in all other cases the Educational Agency shall be termed "Corporate Educational Agency". Corporate Educational Agency shall include cases where the right is vested in (a) two or more persons jointly with written registered agreement, (b) a Board or Society or Association or Company or institution registered under a statute or created by a statute (c) an institution of Trust and (d) an ecclesiastical office of any religious denomination."

"Rule 3 of Chapter III Management to be vested in a Manager:- (1) The management of every aided school may be vested by the Education Agency in a person who shall be referred to as the Manager and who shall be responsible to the department for the management of the institution.

(2) In the case of aided institutions under individual management, the individual proprietor may be the Manager.

(3) In the case of aided institutions under Corpo