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2023 Supreme(Mad) 2074
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
L. VICTORIA GOWRI, J.
Virjin Puspha – Appellant
Versus
The Commissioner of School Education, Chennai & Others – Respondents
W.P.(MD) No. 15205 of 2023 &W.M.P(MD) Nos. 12803, 12804, 12806 & 12808 of 2023
Decided On : 20-07-2023
For the Petitioner:R. Anand, Advocate. For the Respondent:R1 to R4, N. Ramesh Arumugam, Government Advocate. for R5 to R7, Isaac Mohanlal, Senior Counsel for M/s. Isaac Chambers, Advocates.
The right to manage the school vested with the management, and appointments must be made with the necessary qualifications. Appointment without prior permission from the department is illegal.
Headnote:
Writ Petition - Appointment Dispute - Rules and Regulations for schools in the corporate management of the R.C. Diocese of Kottar - Canon 428 - Appointment of Teachers in Christian Minority Schools - Violation of Rules and Regulations - Right to manage the school vested with management - Appointment without prior permission from the department - Quashing of appointment order
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a qualified candidate for the post of P.G. Assistant in the subject of English, filed a Writ Petition seeking to quash the appointment of the eighth respondent as a Post Graduate English Teacher and to direct the sixth respondent to permit the petitioner to serve as a Post Graduate English Teacher in his school. The petitioner's appointment was revoked, and the eighth respondent was appointed in her place.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the appointment of the eighth respondent without prior permission from the department was illegal and quashed the appointment order. However, the revocation of the petitioner's appointment was upheld as no vested right had arisen until the date of joining the said vacancy.
Issues: Violation of Rules and Regulations for schools in the corporate management of the R.C. Diocese of Kottar, appointment without prior permission from the department, revocation of appointment
Ratio Decidendi: The right to manage the school vested with the management, and it is open for them to appoint any candidate who has the necessary qualifications. The appointment of the eighth respondent without prior permission from the department was illegal. The revocation of the petitioner's appointment did not create any vested right until the date of joining the said vacancy.
Final Decision: The appointment of the eighth respondent was quashed, and the revocation of the petitioner's appointment was upheld. The petitioner accepted a subsequent transfer order and is presently working in a surplus post.
JUDGMENT
(Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution ofIndia for issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for theentire records pertaining to the order passed by the sixth respondentin No.EDN/K/CM/FC4/195/2023 dated 08.06.2023 as well as the orderin No.EDN/K/CM/FC4/211/2023 dated 10.06.2023 and quash the sameand consequently direct the sixth respondent to permit the petitionerto serve as a Post Graduate English Teacher in his school as per theorder of the sixth respondent in No.EDN/K/CM/FC4/172/2023 dated05.06.2023.)
1. The present Writ Petition has been filed for issuance of aWrit of Certiorarified Mandamus, to quash the order passed by thesixth respondent in No.EDN/K/CM/FC4/195/2023 dated 08.06.2023 aswell as the order in No.EDN/K/CM/FC4/211/2023 dated 10.06.2023and consequently to direct the sixth respondent to permit thepetitioner to serve as a Post Graduate English Teacher in his school asper the order of the sixth respondent in No.EDN/K/CM/FC4/172/2023dated 05.06.2023.
2.The petitioner is an aggrieved person due to the changeof seniority in the list prepared in the cadre of P.G Assistant Teacheremployed under the category of self-finance in the Schools being rununder the governance of the corporate management of Roman Catholicin the Diocese of Kuzhithurai. The petitioner is a qualified candidate forholding the post of P.G. Assistant in the subject of English. She wasappointed as a P.G Assistant Teacher in R.C. Higher Secondary School,Konamkadu under the category of "Self Finance". As far as theappointment of the teaching staff in the schools controlled by the R.C.Diocese is concerned, they are aided institutions separately and also inthe category of self-finance appointees are being recruited in thesanctioned vacancies. In addition to that, the fifth respondentmaintains a seniority list, which would be otherwise called a waitinglist. Those appointees appointed in both the said category would beplaced in the said list and based on which, the seniority of them wouldbe fixed and as and when the regular vacancy arises, the name of thesenior shown in the list of self-finance appointees would be picked upand after following the rules of the Government exclusively made inthis regard, those posts would be filled up.
3. In order to streamline the said process, separately, rulesnamely, "Rules and Regulations for schools in the corporatemanagement of the R.C. Diocese of Kottar" has been framed and afterthe bifurcation of Kulithurai Diocese, the said rule was renamed asrules for the R.C. Diocese of Kulithurai. In terms of the said rules as faras filling up the vacancies from the members of the same family, it wasmade clear in the said rule that only after a gap of five years from theearlier appointment of the person from one particular family, anotherperson could be considered and even for doing so, the candidateswhose names available in the category of self-finance seniority listcould be taken for such consideration. That apart, the said rules clearlymandate that once a person from a family has been appointed, theother person from the very same family whose name is found availablein the seniority list would go to the end of such list in other words, inview of the appointment given to the same family members,automatically, later members name would go to the bottom in theseniority list prepared under the category of self-financing teachers.
4. As far as this case is concerned, the petitioner''s namehas been found in the seniority list 2019-2020 in Serial No.5. After theappointment of the teachers who were in serial Nos.1 and 2, as ofnow, the petitioner''s position is in serial No.3. Admittedly there arethree vacancies which would arise in the schools namely (i) St. JosephHigher Secondary School, Thiruthuvapuram, Kanyakumari District, (ii)St.Francis Higher Secondary School, Vengodu and (iii) St.Mary''s HigherSecondary School, Melpalai in view of the reason that P.G. Assistantworking in the said schools
