JUDGMENT

Pankaj Jain, J. (Oral)

Present writ petition has been filed impugning the order dated 25th of August, 2022 (Annexure P-10) passed by respondent No.2 whereby services of the petitioner have been ordered to be terminated.

2. On 29th of April, 2009, the petitioner was appointed as Post Graduate Teacher with the respondent-School. Owing to certain allegations levelled against the petitioner, order dated 25th of August, 2022 was passed whereby the petitioner was ordered to be terminated w.e.f. 25th of November, 2022 (Annexure P-10). The petitioner approached Punjab Educational Tribunal impugning the aforesaid order. The said petition bearing No.129 of 2022 filed under Section 7 -a (12) of the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Services of Employees) Act, 1974 is still pending before the Tribunal. Along with the petition, the petitioner filed an application seeking interim relief. Since the Tribunal was functioning without proper quorum the application filed by the petitioner seeking interim protection could not be entertained and the same was declined for want of quorum vide order dated 10th of November, 2022. In the background of these facts and circumstances, the petitioner approached this Court by way of present petition.

3. Ld. Counsel for the petitioner has emphatically argued that the present writ petition would be maintainable in view of law laid down by Division Bench of this Court in LPA No.117 of 2013 titled as 'Governing Body/Managing Committee v. Punjab School Education Board and others' and till the Tribunal adjudicates upon the issue of interim protection, the petitioner is entitled for the same.

4. Per contra, Mr. Jain submits that the present writ petition itself is not maintainable that too in the absence of Tribunal having been impleaded as party. It has been further contended that there being a purely contractual relationship between the parties as per settled law no interim protection can be granted.

5. I have heard counsel for the parties and have gone through records of the case.

6. So far as the issue w.r.t. the maintainability of the writ petition is concerned, in the considered opinion of this Court, the same would be maintainable. This Court does not need to travel far to fetch the reason. Division Bench of this Court in the case of Governing Body/Managing Committee v. Punjab School Education Board and others (supra) held as under :-

"(9) Thus, the expression "all cases of disputes" contained in Section 7-A (12) of the Act is wide enough to encompass within its ambit the disputes between the employees of "un-aided institutions" and their "Managing Committee" also. The distinction between the Government aided Privately Managed Recognized Schools/ Colleges or un-aided Privately Managed Recognized Schools/Colleges may have some relevance or bearing on the nature of relief may be granted by the Tribunal in a given case. It is not true that the employee of un-aided Privately Managed Recognized Schools/Colleges is remediless and cannot ventilate his grievance before the Educational Tribunal, more so when the appellant has not been able to point out any express bar against the exercise of jurisdiction by the Educational Tribunal in such like matters."

(emphasis supplied)

7. Same was the view reiterated by another Division Bench in LPA No.892 of 2019 titled as ' Surinder Krishan Sharma v. State of Punjab and others', holding as under :-

"9. The expression "all cases of disputes" used in Section 7-A(12) of the Act is wide enough to encompass within its ambit any type of disputes between the employees