IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 29^TH DAY OF APRIL, 2025 PRESENT THE HON’BLE MR JUSTICE V KAMESWAR RAO AND THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE T.M.NADAF WRIT APPEAL NO. 842/2024 (S-RES)

BETWEEN:

NETHAJI KENDRA VIDYA SAMSTHE (REGD), BALLAMAVATI, MADIKERI TALUK, KODAGU DISTRICT-571 214, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY.

…APPELLANT (BY SRI. MAHESH A.S, ADVOCATE)

AND

1. K. SOMASHEKHAR, S/O LATE KRISHNA NAYAKA, AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS, RESIDING AT NO.499(1), HOUSE NO.3, NETHAJI EXTENSION, KUSHAL NAGARA, KODAGU DISTRICT-571 234.

2. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONS (SECONDARY), NEW PUBLIC OFFICES, NRUPATHUNGA ROAD, K.R. CIRCLE, BENGALURU-560 001.

…RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. L. SIDDAIAH, ADVOCATE FOR SRI. S. ANILKUMAR, ADVOCATE FOR C/R1, SMT. SARITHA KULKARNI, AGA FOR R2)

THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED UNDER SECTION 4 OF THE KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ACT, PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT DATED 01.04.2024 PASSED BY THE LEARNED SINGLE JUDGE IN WP NO.16493/2022.

THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING BEEN HEARD AND RESERVED FOR JUDGMENT ON 24.03.2025, COMING ON FOR ‘PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT’ THIS DAY, V KAMESWAR RAO J., DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

CORAM: THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V KAMESWAR RAO AND HON'BLE MR JUSTICE T.M.NADAF

CAV JUDGMENT

(PER: THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V KAMESWAR RAO)

This intra-court appeal has been filed by the Nethaji Kendra Vidya Samsthe (Regd.), Ballamavati, Madikeri Taluk, Kodagu District, challenging the order of the learned Single Judge dated 01.04.2024 in Writ Petition No.16493/2022, whereby the learned Single Judge has allowed the writ petition filed by the Respondent No.1 by stating in Paragraph-14 as under:

“14. In view of the above, this Court proceeding to pass the following:

ORDER

(i) The Writ Petition is allowed.

(ii) The order dated 21.08.2019 vide Annexure-

D passed by respondent no.1 is hereby quashed.

(iii) Respondents are hereby directed to reinstate the petitioner to his former position forthwith and grant all consequential benefits.”

2. The facts to be noted from the record are that, Respondent No.1 contested his dismissal order in the light of the determination that, his Nayak Caste Certificate on which appointment as a Craft Teacher was made in the year in 1997 was allegedly fake.

3. The Respondent No.1 was appointed as a Craft Teacher in the School run by the appellant herein on a post which was reserved for Scheduled Tribe Candidate. It was the case of Respondent No.1 that, after 21 years of continuous and unblemished service, the appellant acting upon the report from the Tahsildar of K.R. Pet Taluk, Mandya District, alleging that the Respondent No.1 has falsified his community status, was put under suspension under Rule 16 of the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Recruitment and terms and Conditions of Service of Employees in Private Aided Primary and Secondary Educational Institutions) Rules 1999 (in short, ‘KEI (Recruitment T & C Etc. ) Rules, 1999]. It is noted that the District Caste Verification Committee (‘DCVC’ in short), Mandya District, held that, the Respondent No.1 belong to the ‘PARIVARA’ Community instead of ‘NAYAKA’ (Scheduled Tribe) as claimed by the Respondent No.1, which resulted in his dismissal on 21.08.2019.

4. An appeal filed by the Respondent No.1 with the Director, of Department of Scheduled Tribe Welfare and Appellate Authority, Bengaluru, having stayed the DCVC’s order, the appellant did not reinstated the Respondent No.1 by citing pending final orders. However, on 04.03.2023, the Director of Tribal Welfare ie., the Appellate Authority set aside the DCVC’s order. Despite that, the appellant nor the Respondent No.2 i.e, the Director of Public Instructions (Secondary) had reinstated the Respondent No.1.

5. The case of the appellant before the learned Single Judge was that the Caste Certificate produced by the Respondent No.1 at the time of his appointment in the year 1997 was found to be fake by the DCVC. It is noted by the learned Single Judge that the Appellate Authority has set aside the finding recognizing i