Disputes over school management should be resolved by an appropriate civil court and not through Writ Petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution.

1. These two Writ Petitions came to be posted on being specially ordered by the Hon'ble Chief Justice vide order dated 13.9.2011. The first Writ Petition is filed by a registered Association seeking for a direction to the District Registrar, Periakulam to accept and record all the returns submitted by the petitioner society since 1992 relating to the affairs of the society as also the Nadar Saraswathy Higher Secondary and Primary School and send a reply to that effect to the petitioner.

2. In the said Writ Petition, Notice of Motion was ordered for 8 weeks and interim injunction was granted only till then. Subsequently, as the interim order was not extended, the Miscellaneous Petition for injunction stands dismissed on 3.4.2002.

3. On notice from this court, the 7th respondent claiming to be the Secretary of the registered society No.442 of 1991 has filed a counter affidavit. They have also filed a common typed set along with the counter affidavit. In the counter affidavit, the maintainability of the Writ Petition was raised as a preliminary issue. It was contended that all the members are originally paying their mahamai to the 7th respondent society with Registration No.442 of 1991 and it is the society with registration No.35 of 1961 is incharge of the School. The 7th respondent are not interfering with the running of the School. In the typed set filed by them, they have also enclosed a copy of the proceedings issued by the District Registrar dated 6.8.1996 in returning the documents submitted by the petitioner society asking for rectification of the mistake pointed out.

4. In any event, the prayer sought for by the petitioner in this Writ Petition cannot be countenanced by this Court in the light of the Full Bench judgment of this Court in C.M.S.Evangelical Suvi David Memorial Higher Secondary School Committee, vs. District Registrar, reported in 2005 (2) LW 550= 2005 (2) CTC 161. In the said Full Bench judgment, it was held that the Registrar in receiving the statutory forms and filing the same has to prima facie come to a conclusion with reference to the correctness of the particulars. But, he cannot give any direction to the registered society in terms of another issue, which does not arise out of the said returns. Subsequently certain further clarification was made by a judgment in R.Muralidharan and other vs. District Registrar, South Madras and another reported in 2008 1 M.LJ 1308. But, in that case once again the Division Bench stated that disputed questions of fact cannot be decided in a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution. Thereafter, the effect of the Full Bench judgment came to be considered by another judgment in C.M.S.Evangelical Suvi David Memorial Higher Secondary School Committee, Karisal vs. District Registrar, reported in 2008 (4) LW 1080. In that case, while following the Full Bench judgment, this Court held that since there has been numerous disputes raised in such societies, the State Government make specific provisions in deciding the lis between the parties including the election dispute as had been done in the other States. Notwithstanding the observations made by the Division Bench, no such amendments have been made.

5. Therefore, in the light of the Full Bench judgment and the factual dispute involved, this Court is not inclined to entertain the first Writ Petition No.8246 of 2001 and the Writ Petition stands dismissed.

6. In the second Writ Petition, namely W.P.No.13465 of 2003, the petitioner has challenged an order dated 11.7.2001 passed by the Director of School Education (Higher Secondary), Chennai 6 and after setting aside the same seeks for a direction to recognise the petitioner as Correspondent of Usilampatti Nattathi Nadargal Uravinmuraikku Pathiamana Nadar Saraswathi Higher Secondary School and Primary School, Usilampatti. That Writ Petition was admitted on 26.7.2001. Pending the Writ Petition, in the application for stay, only notice was ordered.

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