Minority institution can appoint anybody of their own choice.

1. This is an appeal against the order passed by the learned single Judge of this Court dismissing the writ petition filed by the petitioner challenging the advertisement issued by the respondents for appointment of the post of Principals in a higher secondary school run by the fifth respondent. A short factual history would not be out of place.

2. Petitioner joined initially as a Headmistress in the Montessori School run by the 4th, 5th and 6th respondents. The 6th respondent is the Correspondent. This was way back in the year 1978. Thereafter, the said school kept on progressing so much so that ultimately the school which had started as a Montessori school became a higher secondary school. It is an admitted position that the school belongs to the minority. It so happened that the petitioner who was serving as a Headmistress right from the beginning had also acquired the qualifications of B.Ed. and M.A. during all these years, so much so that she seems to have acquired the qualification of M.Ed. also. After the school was raised to the standard of Higher Secondary School, the respondents 4 to 6 issued an advertisement on 25. 1995 inviting applications for the post of Principal of the said higher secondary school. Till then, admittedly the petitioner was continuing as an In-charge Headmistress all through. The petitioner came out with the writ petition praying for issue of a writ. of mandamus directing the respondents 4 to 6 from interfering with the petitioners right to continue in service as the Principal of the 5th respondent school. In short, the petitioner contended that it was she who was liable to continue as a Principal even of the higher secondary school as she hold adequate qualifications and that the respondents 4 to 6 had no right to appoint any Principal from the open market. This writ petition came to be dismissed by this Court.

3. The defence to this writ petition in the first place was that. the petitioner did not have the adequate qualification in asmuch as she did not. have an experience of ten years of teaching experience after obtaining her post-graduate degree as she had only acquired her M.A. degree in the year 1992. The second defence and which is more substantial one is that this was a minority school and therefore the management had full right to appoint the Principal of their own choice, the post of Principal being a very sensitive post for the administration of the school.

4. Thelearned single Judge of this Court dismissed the writ petition after hearing the other side. The learned single Judge came to the conclusion that the petitioner did not have the adequate qualifications and the learned single Judge further choose to follow the law laid down by the Apex Court in N. Ahmad v. Manager, Emjay High School and others, AIR 1999 SC 50 confirming the right of the management of the minority school to appoint, a Principal of their own choice as protected by Article 30 (1) of the Constitution or India. Substantially following that judgment and quoting extensively from the same, the learned single Judge proceeded to dismiss the writ petition. It is now a settled position in law, in view of the Apex Courts judgment, that the minority school would be entitled to appoint a Principal of their own choice considering the importance of the post of the Principal even ignoring the seniority of the staff who are working. However, such appointment would have to be of only a person who holds adequate qualifications. That appears to be the only rider in the afore mentioned decision, cited supra.

5. Mr.Rajan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner very fervently took us through the various Government Orders and tried to urge that the petitioner was fully qualified to hold the post in as much as she had the qualification of M.A. M.Ed. He took us particularly to G.O.Ms.No.1091 dated 16.05.1978 and tried to rely on Clause (ii) with regard to Aided Schools-(a) Headmasters, which is as follows: