Orissa High Court
Sundergarh Professional Education ... vs State Of Orissa And Ors. on 23 December, 1998
Equivalent citations: AIR1999ORI163, AIR 1999 ORISSA 163
Author: P.K. Mohanty
Bench: S.N. Phukan, P.K. Mohanty
JUDGMENT P.K. Mohanty, J.
1. Original Jurisdiction Case No. 17167 of 1997 is filed by the Sundargarh Professional Education Society through its President for quashing the order of the Director, Higher Education, communicated by the Deputy Director, +2 Education in Annexure 5 constituting a Governing Body of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Mahavidyalaya, Rourkela in the district of Sundargarh under Rule 24 of the Orissa Education (Establishment, Recognition and Management of Private Junior Colleges/Higher Secondary Schools) Rules, 1991 and for a director to the Collector, Sundargarh to constitute the Governing Body and the Director, Higher Education to approve the same.
2. Original Jurisdiction Case No. 15091 of 1997 is filed by Sri Sunil Kumar Mohanty, claiming to be the Principal-in-charge of the said Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Mahavidyalaya with a prayer for directing the opp. parties to allow the petitioner to function as the Principal-in-charge and to prohibit opp. parties 4 and 5 from interfering.
Both the matters have been heard together with the consent and agreement of the learned counsel for the parties since they relate to the Management of the College, constitution of its Governing Body and the appointment of the Principal and disposed of by this common order.
3. In O.J.C. No. 15091 of 1997 filed by Sunil Kumar Mohanty, by order dated 24-12-1997, this Court as an interim measure directed that the functioning of (he petitioner as the Principal of the College shall not he interfered with. Subsequently, by order dated 22-1-1998, it was directed that the Collector personally shall take up the matter regarding appointment of the Principal and issue notice to all parties and the parties may file their representation and documents including certificates and mark-sheets etc. and, if necessary, the Collector can take the help of the Director, Higher Education and pass necessary orders. The appointment order of the Collector appointing Sri S. K. Mohanty, the petitioner as Principal-in-Charge of the College was confirmed and directed to be continued until further orders, It was further directed that the Principal-In-Charge shall take action as per the direction of the Collector and shall also take action as per the direction of the Collector and shall also lake action for affiliation/recognition of the College and thereafter in the said order dated 19-8-1998 in Misc. Case No. 10152 of 1998 steps for affiliation/ recognition was directed to be taken within seven days from that date.
By order dated 5-12-1998 the Director, Higher Education was directed to go to the College and if not possible, he shall send an Officer not below the rank of Deputy Director who shall have a discussion with the Collector and other concerned parties and submit a report to the Court by 10-12-1998. The Deputy Director has accordingly submitted a report through the learned Government Advocate.
4. The report of the Deputy Director dated 8-12-1998 reveals that he met the Principal-in-charge Sri Sunil Kumar Mohanty, the petitioner in O.J.C. No. 15091 of 1997 in the College when not a single teacher nor a student was found in the Campus. The College building is in a precarious condition. The Principal's Office is thoroughly ransacked and the windows and doors were broken and removed. The Principal-in-charge reported that due to withholding of the result of the C.R.L.R. Annual Examination, 1998, the students became violent, broke the doors, windows and chairs and other valuables of the College. There are three laboratory rooms for practical classes of Science Wing. There are only three rooms/halls meant for theory classes of both +2 Arts and Science streams. The two halls which can accommodate 128 students each are in dilapidated conditions. In one hall, two side-walls have already been collapsed. In another hall, racks are found in all the side walls and big holes tire visible on them. At any moment the walls may collapse. As the two halls are unsafe to hold classes only one small room, which can accommodate hardly 30 students, is available for taking theory classes. The Deputy Director further reports that classes are not taken regularly and that the College authority have not admitted students in First year of Science and Arts classes. However, the Principal-in-charge has applied for recognition for the year 1997-98, 1998-99 and affiliation from C.N.S.T. for the same period. The Principal-in-charge has given in writing that by 8-12-1998 he has sold eight number of application forms to the students for admission into first year +2 Arts and Science classes. The Deputy Director further reports that there are two rival groups among the Staff (teaching and non-teaching) which has seriously jeopardised the academic atmosphere of the College.
5. The petitioner-Society had earlier filed O.J.C. No. 3678 of 1995 and opposite party No 7 filed O.J.C. No. 5617 of 1995 and a direction was given by this Court to the Director, Higher Education to fake a decision considering the rival claims of the parties giving them opportunity of hearing and the approval of the list of members of the Governing Body was accorded by order dated 16-10-1997, a copy of which is Annexure-5. Several litigations arc still pending between the parties.
6. In the aforesaid background of the case, the Collector has been directed to act as Administrator of the College and Sri D. K. Mohanly t o be the Principal-in-Charge until further orders.
7. The undisputed factual position as emerges from the case is that the Governing Body has been approved by the Director on consideration of the rival claims of the petitioners and others pursuant to the direction of this Court which is Annexure-5 to the writ application. The petitioner Society challenges the approval on the ground that Sri D. C. Pal is continuing as Principal of the College who is the seniormost lecturer of the Institution, whereas Sri S. K. Mohanty, who has already resigned from the post is shown as Principal and that one Rajani Jena has been shown as President of the Institution as per the letter of the Director, whereas one Arya Patnaik has been indicated as President in the approved Governing Body inasmuch as approval has been accorded in ignorance and in disregard to the documents produced by the petitioner Society. The constitution of the Governing Body as well as the appointment and continuance of Principal-in-charge of the College is in serious dispute. The Deputy Director in his report as per the direction of this Court dated 5-12-1998 has depicted a very sad state of affairs of the Management of the College, the precarious condition of the College building, its affairs, teachers, other staff and the students.
8. The Principal-in-Charge, under the authority of the Administrator (Collector, Sundergarh) has already applied for recognition to the Director and for affiliation from the Council of Higher Secondary Education from the Academic Session 1997-98 and 1998-99 onwards. Thus, undisputcdly, the College does not have recognition nor affiliation from the academic session 1997-1998 onwards and now it is the fag end of academic session 1998-1999. The Deputy Director 1 + 2 Non-Government Colleges) in his report dated 8-12-1998 has indicated that the College had not rightly admitted students for these sessions. But there is dispute with regard to Management and constitution of the Governing Body and appointment/continuance of Principal-in-Charge of the College.
9. Sections 6 and 6A of the Orissa Education Act and corresponding Rule under Chapter III of Orissa Education (Establishment, Recognition and Management of Private Junior College/ Higher Secondary) Rules, 1991 deals with the mode of application, procedure for, conditions required of and the appropriate prescribed authorities for grant of recognition to Junior Colleges/Higher Secondary Schools. The Director, Higher Education is the Prescribed Competent authority, who is to process such application in terms of Section 6 of the Act read with Chapter III of the Rules and consider for recognition, if it fulfils the requirements and conditions laid under Section 6-A of the Act, the Rules and the Circulars. The application for recognition of the Junior College being pending before the competent authority, we direct opposite parties 1 and 2 to consider the application and dispose of in accordance with law within two months from the receipt of this order. We further direct the Council of Higher Secondary Education to consider the grant of affiliation to the institution in case the recognition is accorded within a period of one month thereafter.
10. Now coming to the question of legality or otherwise of the approval of the Governing Body, it is to be noted here that the Director in his order dated 16-10-1997 vide Annexure 5 has approved the constitution of the Governing Body under Rule 14 of the Rules.
11. Under Rule 23 of the Rules, the Educational Agency, which has been permitted to establish a Junior College soon after its establishment has to constitute a Governing Body in accordance therewith and such Educational Agency, while applying for recognition of the junior college has to furnish the details of the Governing Body for the approval of the Director. Educational agency has been defined under Sub-rule (f) of Rule 2 to mean, any body or person or body of persons who have made an application under Sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Act for permission for establishment of a Private Higher Secondary School. Thus, the Director, while approving the Governing Body is required to consider the proposal for the approval of Governing Body from the Educational Agency, which obtained the permission for establishment of the private Junior College under Section 5 of the Act and which also applies for recognition thereof to the Director. It has not been placed on record, whether the Governing Body, which has been approved by the Director under Annexure 5, is in accordance with the aforesaid Rules 23 and 24 of the Rules and as to whether the list proposed by the Educational Agency has been approved in accordance with the Rules. In that view of the matter, we quash the order of approval of the Governing Body in Annexure 5 and direct that the Director shall consider the case for approval on the basis of records available with him and, if necessary, call for the records or documents from the contesting parties in accordance with the aforesaid rules as observed earlier and pass appropriate orders within a period of two months from the dale of receipt of our order and till then, the Collector, Sundergarh shall continue as the Administrator of the Institution and manage the same, if he feels necessary, with the aid of any of the officers not below the rank of a sub-collector with the assistance of Sri S. K. Mohanty, Principal-in-Charge appointed by him.
12. It is further directed that the Director, while considering the application for recognition, shall also consider the case of approval of appointment of teachers in terms of Rule 18 of the Rules read with Section 7-B of the Act. The Director while considering the question of approval of teachers appointed in the College shall also determine their inter se seniority and find out whether the appointment/claim of Sri S. K. Mohanty, petitioner in O.J.C. No. 15091 of 1997 is in accordance with the provisions of law and the circulars, if any. In case, the Director determines any other person as the seniormost teacher duly qualified to act as a Principal-in-charge, the Director shall direct the Management of the Institution accordingly and such teacher shall hold the post within a period of two months from the date or receipt of this order. The petitioner Sri S. K. Mohanty shall continue as Principal-in-charge till such determination is made by the Director.
We further direct that there shall be no admission of statements to the College, without obtaining recognition and affiliation from the appropriate Authorities in accordance with law.
The writ application is disposed of with the aforesaid observations and directions.
S.N. Phukan, C.J.
13. I agree.