ORAL JUDGMENT

1.RULE. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of learned Counsel for the rival parties.

2. By these two petitions, orders passed by the School Tribunal are made subject matter of challenge. The question that arises for consideration is, as to whether the employees in these petitions were entitled to invoke the provisions of the Maharashtra Education Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1977 and Rules, 1981 framed thereunder (for short, “the MEPS Act and Rules”) to approach the School Tribunal to ventilate their grievances. In Writ Petition No.8270 of 2019, the employee is the Respondent No.1, while in Writ Petition No.2571 of 2021, the employee is the Petitioner.

3. Before dealing with the impugned orders passed in these two petitions, it would be necessary to briefly refer to the facts pertaining to these petitions.

4. In Writ Petition No.8270 of 2019, the Respondent No.1 claimed that his services were otherwise terminated by the Petitioner/Management, as far back as in the year 2001. Being aggrieved by the action of the Management, the Respondent No.1 had filed an appeal before the School Tribunal under the provisions of th