IMPORTANT POINTS
The competent authority is empowered to issue no objection certificate for the purpose of establishing a minority educational institution and the National Commission is conferred with the authority to decide all questions relating to the status of any institution as a minority educational institution and declare its status as such.

JUDGMENT :

V.G. ARUN, J.

1. The appellants had filed the writ petition challenging Exhibit P2 order, declaring the Nallur Narayana L.P. Basic School (for short ‘the School’) as a minority educational institution within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 (Act 2 of 2005) (for short ‘the Act 2 of 2005’). The appellants are Lower Primary Teachers in the School and are aggrieved by the appointment of the 4th respondent as Headmaster of the School overlooking the seniority of the appellants.

2. A conspectus of the essential facts are as follows:

The Nallur Narayana L.P. Basic School was established in the year 1936 by Sri. Nallur Narayana Menon. After the death of Nallur Narayana Menon, his son Sri. K.K. Sasidharan took over as Manager of the School. In the year 2005, Sri. K.K. Sasidharan transferred the management of the School, including its properties, to one P.K. Mohammed Hajee. The transfer was approved by the Assistant Educational Officer, Feroke as per order no. K.Dis.18/04/D dated 12.7.2005 and by the Director of Public Instructions vide order no. G3/82087/04/K.Dis. dated 28.3.2005. Much later, on 14.8.2013, the new Manager filed an application before the State Government for No Objection Certificate for the purpose of establishment of a Minority Educational Institution. No order was passed on the application. Therefore, in December, 2014, the Manager submitted Exhibit P1 application before the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (‘the National Commission’ for brevity). By Exhibit P2, the National Commission declared minority status of the School and issued Exhibit P3 certificate. According to the petitioners, seniority among the teachers, which otherwise should have been the relevant consideration for the purpose of promotion as Headmaster, was overlooked by the Manager on the strength of the minority status and the 4th respondent, who is none other than the son of the Manager, was appointed as Headmaster.

3. The challenge in the writ petition against the grant of minority status to the School was on the ground that, in order to be a Minority Educational Institution, the institution should have been established and administered by a minority community. The Nallur Narayana L.P. Basic School having been established by Sri. Nallur Narayana Menon, who was not the member of any minority community and the School itself having not been established for the benefit and betterment of the students belonging to a minority community, the mere fact that, at a later point of time, the School was transferred and was thereafter being administered by the member of a minority community would not entitle the School to claim the status of a minority educational institution.

4. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the 1st respondent Manager it was contended that even though the School was initially established by Sri. Nallur Narayana Menon, the subsequent purchase by Sri. T.K. Mohammed Hajee, who admittedly is a member of the minority Muslim community, changed the character of the School to that of a minority educational institution, since, after the transfer, the School is being administered by the members of a minority community, for the benefit of the students of their community.

5. The learned single Judge held that, though in an etymological sense, the word established means founding or creation, it can have a different meaning in the constitutional context, which is not limited to bringing into existence an educational institution through its founding. That, the main object of Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India being to accord protection to minorities and to create a sense of feeling among the minorities that they have equal rights with the majority and to bring up institutions to compete with any other institution of excellence, an educational institution purchased by a minority and dedicated for the cause of minority would also fall within t