Uttarakhand High Court
WPPIL/69/2022 on 25 May, 2022
Bench: Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Ramesh Chandra Khulbe
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WPPIL 69/2022
Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.
Hon'ble Ramesh Chandra Khulbe, J.
Mr. Sahil Mullick, Advocate, for the petitioner.
Mr. Atul Bahuguna, Central Govt. Standing Counsel, for the respondents no. 1 and 2. Mr. K.N. Joshi, Dy. Advocate General, for the respondents no. 3 to 6.
Mr. V.K. Kohli, Senior Advocate, assisted by Mr. Ashish Joshi, Advocate for the respondent no. 7.
This PIL has been filed by Blessing India Charitable Trust, which is allegedly a registered trust. Copy of the trust deed has been enclosed as Annexure No. 1.
The relief sought in the writ petition are as follows:
"(a) issue a writ, order or direction, in the nature of certiorari, quashing the public advertisement dated 21.12.2021 for recruitment of one Assistant Teacher (Urdu), one Assistant Teacher (Art) and one Assistant Teacher (Sanskrit) at Ramsay Inter College, Almora (Annexure No. 16).
(b) issue a writ, order or direction, in the nature of mandamus, appointing Court Receivers/Administrators in all the Higher Secondary Schools of the Methodist Church in India, namely, Ramsay Inter College, Almora, Adams Girls Inter College, Almora, Mission Inter College, Dwarahaat, Mission Inter College, Rarnikhet, LWS Girls Inter College, Bhatkot, Pithoragarh, Mission Inter College, Pithoragarh, in order to avoid irregularities at there institutions.
(c) issue a writ, order or direction, in the nature of mandamus, directing the respondent no. 1 & 2, to determine the minority status of the respondent no. 7 & 8 and also to determine, whether the certificate of registration of 1942-43 and as amended on 25.03.1982 (Annexure No. 3 (colly), issued by the Registrar of Societies (respondent no. 9) was renewed, after every five years; and whether all the State Government aided minority education institutions i.e. Higher Secondary Schools of respondent no. 7, at Almora, Pithoragarh, Dwarahaat & Ranikhet;
are duly covered in the ambit of the said registration certificate (Annexure No. 3 (colly).
(d) issue a writ, order or direction, in the nature of certiorari, quashing the minority certificate (under Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India), issued to the respondent nos. 7 & 8, by the respondent no. 6, i.e. minority certificate dated 11.06.1976 (Annexure No. 9) and to hold that in absence of any certificate issued by respondent no. 1; such protection guaranteed under Article 30(1), would cease to be extended the respondent no. 7 i.e. their respective six Higher Secondary Schools at Almora, Pithoragarh, Dwarahaat and Ranikhet respectively;
(e) issue any other writ, order or direction or grant any other consequential relief, as deemed expedient in law and for the welfare of larger Public Interest."
Ramsay Inter College, Almora is a Government aided minority institution imparting education up to intermediate level, which is run by a society through a Committee of management. Learned Counsel for the petitioner contends that registration of the society has not been renewed since 1982. He further submits that the scheme of administration of the said institution has not been approved in terms of Section 29 of Uttarakhand School Education Act. He further submits that respondent no. 8 is registered as a private limited company, but it has not filed its balance sheet for the last three years.
On the aforementioned grounds, petitioner has challenged the advertisement dated 21.12.2021, issued by Ramsay Inter College, Almora, whereby applications have been invited for filling up the posts of Assistant Teacher in Urdu, Art and Sanskrit subjects.
We have gone through the impugned advertisement. There is nothing objectionable in the said advertisement. The grounds taken by petitioner for challenging the advertisement are not valid. Non-renewal of registration of the society and non-furnishing of balance sheet by the apex body, which manages the institutions at PAN-India level, cannot be a ground for setting aside the advertisement inviting applications for appointment on teaching posts.
Even otherwise, petitioner has sought to convert a service dispute into a public interest litigation, which is impermissible in view of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Dr Duryodhan Sahu v. Jitendra Kumar Mishra, (1998) 7 SCC 273 and Ashok Kumar Pandey v. State of W.B., (2004) 3 SCC 349, wherein PIL in service matters has been held to be not maintainable.
For the reasons stated above, this PIL is not maintainable and is dismissed as such.
No order as to costs.
(Ramesh Chandra Khulbe, J.) (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 25.5.2022 Pr