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2010 Supreme(Mad) 4756
High Court of Judicature at Madras
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. SATHYANARAYANAN
The Congregation of The Regular Tertiary Franciscans Sisters
Versus
The Government of Tamil Nadu rep. by The Secretary & Others
Writ Petition No.3299 of 2005
Decided On : 02-11-2010
For the Petitioner:Fr. A. Xavier Arulraj, Advocate.
For the Respondents: S. Gopinathan, AGP.
The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation and application of Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India, emphasizing the protection of minorities' right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Headnote:
Minority Status - Educational Institution - Article 30(1) of the Constitution - G.O.Ms.No.375, School Education Department, dated 12.10.1998 - The judgment discusses the application of Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India and the guidelines for obtaining minority status for educational institutions. It highlights the interpretation of the meaning and intent of Article 30 and the conditions for an institution to be eligible for minority status. The court's decision is influenced by the legal provisions of Article 30(1) and the guidelines in G.O.Ms.No.375, emphasizing the protection of minorities' right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought minority status for St. John De Bhritto Middle School, which was rejected by the first respondent. The petitioner, a registered society, claimed that the school was continuously managed by the Christian minority community and was eligible for minority status under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the school was established and administered by the minority community and was entitled to minority status. It held that the reasons stated by the first respondent for rejecting the petitioner's request were unsustainable, and the petitioner had substantiated their case for granting minority status to the school.
Issues: The issues revolved around the eligibility of the school for minority status under Article 30(1) of the Constitution and the validity of the reasons provided by the first respondent for rejecting the petitioner's request.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the interpretation of Article 30(1) of the Constitution and the guidelines in G.O.Ms.No.375, which emphasized the protection of minorities' right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. It also emphasized that the reasons provided by the first respondent for rejecting the petitioner's request were unsustainable.
Final Decision: The court allowed the writ petition, quashed the order of the first respondent, and directed the first respondent to grant minority status to the school administered by the petitioner educational agency.
1. The petitioner aggrieved by the order dated 21.10.2004, passed by the first respondent under which, their request for grant of minority status to St. John De Bhritto Middle School, Bharathi Nagar, Madurai-18, came to be rejected, had filed this writ petition to quash the said order and for appropriate direction directing the first respondent to grant minority status.
2. The facts necessary for the disposal of this writ petition are as follows:-
The deponent to the affidavit is the President of the petitioner society and Superior General of the Religious Congregation of The Regular Tertiary Franciscans Sisters Of Our Lady of Bonsecours. The petitioner is a registered society registered under the Societies Registration Act and it is a Religious, charitable Educational Society. The society is running number of educational institutions throughout India and all the institutions are minority institutions in terms of Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India. The petitioner Educational Agency is running 7 Primary Schools, 12 Middle Schools, 5 High Schools, 11 Higher Secondary Schools and 2 Teacher Training Institutions and also a Women College. All the institutions run by the petitioner agency are declared as minority institutions by a judgment of this Court dated 24.9.1976 in W.P.No.626 of 1975. The Director of School Education vide his proceedings in R.C.No.24541-G3/76 dated 20.11.1976 has approved the Congregation of The Regular Tertiary Franciscans Sisters of Our Ladu of Bonsecours which run the schools as minority institutions.
3. The educational agency took over the administration of the school by name Ebenezar Middle School, Bharathi Nagar, Madurai-18 from the Manager of the school namely Mr.Deva Irakkam on 21.5.1997. The school was established by Thiru.A.S.Sathiyanathan who is a Christian by birth and after his demise, his son Thiru.A.S.Dharmaraj took over as the Manager and Correspondent of the said school on 25.3.1961 and thereafter Mr.Deva Irakkam took over as Manager and Correspondent of the said school on 20.8.1977 and he continued in that position till 20.5.1997 and on that day, the petitioner took over the said school. Mr.A.S.Sathiyanathan, his son Mr.A.S.Dharmaraj and Mr.Deva Irakkam are Christians by birth and practiced Christianity till their death.
4. The community status of the above said persons as Christians, were certified by Tahsildar, Madurai South Taluk in his certificate dated 30.6.2000.
5. After the management and administration of the school was taken over by the petitioners society, the third respondent had approved the said transfer vide his proceedings dated 19.3.1998 with effect from 25.1.1997 under Rule 2(b) of the Tamil Nadu Recognition of Private Schools Regulation Act and in the same proceedings, the said official has granted approval of Sister Saroja as the Correspondent with effect from 21.5.1997 and Sister Saroja is the member of the petitioner educational agency.
6. The above said school is managed by the petitioner educational agency and it is also receiving Grant-in-Aid from the Government of Tamil Nadu and it is a recognized school.
7. The school is continuously managed by the people professing Christian faith and it is for the welfare of the Christian minority community. At present, the students strength is more than 1,000 students and out of which, 50% are Christian minority students.
8. The petitioner agency applied to the concerned authorities for a declaration that the above said school is a minority institution and the third respondent vide his proceedings dated 23.4.1998, has forwarded a proposal to the second respondent. The second respondent vide his reply dated 13.5.1998, has stated that the proposals are under consideration and the Government Order is awaited.
9. The guidelines for obtaining minority status for educational institutions have been issued in G.O.Ms.No.375, School Education (XI) Department, dated 12.10.1998. As per the guidelines, if the instit
