Allahabad High Court
Committee Of Management Janta Janardan ... vs State Of U.P. And 4 Others on 13 November, 2024
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC:178424 Court No. - 32 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 32375 of 2024 Petitioner :- Committee Of Management Janta Janardan Shiksha Sadan Inter College And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Vashishtha Dhar Shukla,Yogita Shukla Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Prabhakar Awasthi Hon'ble Vikas Budhwar,J.
1. Heard Sri Vivek Shandilya, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri V.D. Shukla, learned counsel for the writ petitioners, Sri R.P. Tiwari, learned Standing Counsel who appears for respondent Nos. 1 to 3. and Sri Prabhakar Awasthi, learned counsel appearing for respondent No. 5.
2. In view of the order which is being proposed to be passed, notice is not being issued to the fourth respondent.
3. The case of the writ petitioners is that pursuant to the elections held on 17.12.2023, the matter was referred to the District Inspector of Schools, Mirzapur which occasioned passing of the order dated 16.02.2024 approving the election of the writ petitioners faction. The said order was subject matter of challenge in Writ-C No. 16396 2024 by the fifth respondent, Committee of Management, Janata Janardan Shiksha Sadan Inter College, Tilaun, Mirzapur and others Vs. State of U.P. & others in which an interim order was passed in favour of the fifth respondent on 31.05.2024, the same is quoted hereunder.-
"1. In compliance of this Court's order dated 29.05.2024, Petitioner No.2 and Mr. Roop Chandra are present and Petitioner No.2 has stated that he has filed this writ petition.
2. Heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, learned Standing Counsel appearing for Respondents No. 1 to 4 and Sri R.K. Ojha, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Ashish Bajpayee, learned counsel appearing for Respondent No. 5.
3. Petitioners through this writ petition have challenged the order dated 16.02.2024 passed by the District Inspector of Schools, Mirzapur whereby he has attested signatures of Mr. Virendra Pratap Singh as Manager of the Janta Janardan Shiksha Sadan Inter College, Mirzapur on the basis of alleged elections of the Committee of Management of the College held on 17.12.2023.
4. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners has argued that the last elections of the Committee of Management of the College were conducted on 23.01.2021 and on the basis of said elections, signatures of Petitioner No. 2 were attested by the District Inspector of Schools, Mirzapur vide order dated 01.02.2021. It has further been submitted that as per the provisions of the Scheme of Administration applicable in the College, term of the Committee of Management of the College is three years, therefore, term of elections held on 23.01.2021 continued till 23.01.2024. It has also been argued that Petitioner No. 2 being the Manager of the outgoing Committee and Petitioner No. 1 being the outgoing Committee of Management of the College have right to hold the elections of the Committee of Management of the College, therefore, by no stretch of imagination, any elections could have taken place on 17.12.2023 whereunder allegedly Sri Virendra Pratap Singh has been elected as Manager.
5. Sri R.K. Ojha, learned Senior Advocate appearing for Respondent No. 5 has pointed out various litigations either decided by this Court or pending before this Court and on that basis, he has argued that as on date, the Committee of Management of the parent Society exists and Mr. Virendra Pratap Singh is Secretary of the Society. Learned counsel appearing for the Respondent No. 5 has also pointed out that the term of the Committee of Management of the College having Petitioner No. 2 as Manager has already expired on 23.01.2024 and general body of the Society and College is one and the same.
6. Though Sri R.K. Ojha has tried to defend the order dated 16.02.2024 but he could not give proper explanation as to when Mr. Virendra Pratap Singh is not the Manager of the outgoing Committee of Management of the College and term of the duly elected Committee of Management of the College having Petitioner No. 2 as Manager expired on 23.01.2024, how the elections could have taken place on 17.12.2023 thereby electing Mr. Virendra Pratap Singh as Manager.
7. I have considered the rival arguments advanced by the learned counsels appearing for the parties and prima-facie I find that since Petitioner No. 2 was the Manager of the duly elected outgoing Committee of Management of the College and its term expired on 23.01.2024, there was no occasion for any body including the Committee of Management of the parent Society to hold elections of the Committee of Management of the College on 17.12.2023 and thereby there was no occasion for the District Inspector of Schools, Mirzapur to attest the signatures of Mr. Virendra Pratap Singh as Manager.
8. Matter requires consideration.
9. Let Counter-Affidavit be filed by the respondents within a period of four weeks.
10. Two weeks thereafter shall be available to the petitioners for filing Rejoinder-Affidavit.
11. Sri R.K. Ojha, learned Senior Advocate, at this stage, prays that this writ petition may be connected with Writ-C No. 10785 of 2021 and Writ-C No. 34780 of 2019.
12. Put up this matter on 29.07.2024 as fresh along with Writ-C No. 10785 of 2021 and Writ-C No. 34780 of 2019.
13. Till the next date of listing, operation and implementation of the order dated 16.02.2024 passed by the District Inspector of Schools, Mirzapur shall remain stayed."
4. According to the writ petitioners, the contesting respondent/fifth respondent despite the pendency of the aforesaid writ petition preferred by them conducted elections on 24.07.2024 and in spite of the specific objection being raised with regard to the matter being sub judice before this Court in the above quoted writ petition, the elections held on 24.07.2024 of the fifth respondent has been approved on 26.07.2024 by the District Inspector of Schools, Mirzapur, third respondent.
5. Questioning the said order, the writ petition has been filed by the writ petitioners.
6. Sri Vivek Shandilya, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the writ petitioners submits that the order impugned in the present writ petition cannot be sustained inasmuch as once the matter is engaging attention and this Court is seized of the matter then it was not open for the District Inspector of Schools or the fifth respondent to get the elections conducted and approved.
7. Countering the said submission, Sri Prabhakar Awasthi as well as learned Standing Counsel submit that the writ petitioners if, in case, is aggrieved against the order dated 26.07.2024 has a remedy to approach the Regional Level Committee while substantiating his case and the claim within the parameters of four corners of law. He submits that once the entire basis of the elections of the writ petitioners faction was faulty and erroneous and the same stood noticed in the pending writ petition preferred by the contesting respondent then there is no bar and nothing forbids in conducting a fresh elections as elections are to be conducted periodically as and when it fall due and occasioned by the outgoing Committee of Management.
8. Learned Senior Counsel for the writ petitioners has no objection in taking recourse to the proceedings before the Regional Level Committee as he seeks to emphasize and rely upon the judgment in the case of Committee of Management, Sri Yadvesh Inter College and another Vs. State of U.P. 2011 (8) ADJ 494 to buttress his submission.
9. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record carefully.
10. Since the parties before me have consensually arrived to a fact that the writ petitioners as it is open for the writ petitioners to approach the concerned Regional Level Committee, thus, the writ petition is being disposed of granting liberty to the writ petitioners to approach the Regional Level Committee and this Court has no reasons to believe that the Regional Level Committee shall decide the matter if maintainable at the instance of the writ petitioners after taking each and every aspect of the matter inclusive of the objection of the respective parties and proceed to pass an order with most expedition within a period of three months from the date of production of certified copy of the order.
Order Date :- 13.11.2024 Rajesh