Allahabad High Court
Committee Of Management, Shukhpura ... vs Alleged Committee Of Management, ... on 22 October, 1997
Equivalent citations: (1998)1UPLBEC379
Author: D.P. Mohapatra
Bench: D.P. Mohapatra
JUDGMENT D.P. Mohapatra, C.J.
1. The Committee of Management, Shukhpura Inter College, Sukhpura, District Ballia, through its Manager Shri Ram Bilas Singh and Sri Ram Bilas Singh filed this appeal challenging the judgment dated 23.4.1996 of Civil Misc. Writ Petitions Nos. 36325 of 1995, 37775 of 1995 and 38072 of 1995. By the said judgment the learned Single Judge disposed of the aforementioned three writ petitions. The operative portion of the judgment reads:-
"From the aforesaid facts the over all position which has emerged is that the elections held on 8.2.1992 and 5.2.1995 was wholly illegal and without authority, the election could be held only in supervision of the Managing Director appointed by the Joint Director of Education. In the circumstances there is no option but to dispose of all the 3 writ petitions with a direction to the Joint Director of Education to appoint a Managing Director within a period of one month from the date of the production of a certified copy of this order. The Managing Director so appointed shall hold the election for constituting a Committee of Management within 3 months from the date of the appointment. In terms of the directions given above, all the 3 writ petitions are disposed of finally. The Managing Director shall also decide the list of members of the General Body before -holding the election after giving opportunity to all the parties concerned. However, it is made clear that if any party is dissatisfied with the list so prepared by the Managing Director, the same will not be entitled to challenge the same and only course open to them, will be to file civil suit. However, the elections will not be postponed for the alleged dispute or for any such other dispute about the general body. There shall be no order as to costs."
2. The controversy relating to election of the Committee of Management of the Institution has had a chequered career. The relevant factual position for proper appreciation of the issues raised may be stated thus :
3. On 22.8.1981 a Committee of Management was elected with Shri Jang Bahadur Singh as Manager and Shri Kuldeep Singh as President. The signature of the Manager was attested by the District Inspector of Schools, Ballia (for short DIOS). On 11.1.1983, on some complaints made by some defeated candidates questioning the validity of the election held on 22.8.1981, the matter was referred to the Joint Director of Education. The reference was treated as one under Section 16-A(7) of the U.P. Intermediate Education Act, 1921 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The Joint Director of Education holding that the election was invalid, declined to recognise the Committee of Management and directed the office bearers of the outgoing Committee of Management to hold fresh elections. The elected Committee of Management challenged the said order before this Court in Writ Petition No. 2375 of 1983 filed on 28.2.1983 and this Court stayed operation of the order dated 11.1.1983 as a result of which the Committee of Management continued to function. The writ petition was dismissed on 15.1.1991 as having become infructuous by efflux of time and this Court directed that fresh elections be held according to law. In the mean time in 1985 the Scheme of Administration of the Institution was amended and provision was made in Clause 7 thereof that after expiry of three years and one month, the Committee of Management shall cease and if no fresh elections have been held during this period, the Deputy Director of Education (DDE for short) shall appoint Prabandh Sanchalak for holding election of the Committee of Management. After dismissal of Writ Petition No. 2375 of 1983,the Committee of Management with Sri Kuldeep Singh as President and Sri Jang Bahadur Singh as Manager sought permission from the DIOS for notifying the election programme and sent a copy of the letter to the DDE. The DDE directed the DIOS that fresh election be held as directed by this Court. The DIOS granted permission to notify the election programme and in the election held on 8.2.1992 Sri Jang Bahadur Singh was elected as President and Sri Ram Bilas Singh was elected as Manager. On 26.2.1992 the DIOS attested the signature of Ram Bilas Singh as Manager. One Ram Naresh Singh filed a writ petition challenging the election of the Committee of Management and seeking direction to the DIOS to refer the dispute under Section 16-A(7) of the Act. The said writ petition filed by Sri Ram Naresh Singh was dismissed on 3.11.1993 with the observation that he himself may make a representation/reference under Section 16-A(7) of the Act to the DDE. Thereafter, Sri Ram Naresh Singh filed a representation/reference before the DDE claiming that he has been elected as Manager and Sri Lakshmi Narain Giri has been elected as President in the election held on 8.2.1992. By order dated 29.1.1995 (Annexure 6 to Writ Petition No. 36325 of 1995) the DDE held the election of Sri Ram Bilas Singh as Manager and Sri Jang Bahadur Singh as President to be valid and also held that the said Committee of Management was in effective control of the Institution. The DDE further directed the elected President and Manager to hold fresh election as their term was due to expire. In the fresh election held on 5.2.1995 Sri Ram Bilas Singh and Sri Jang Bahadur Singh were elected as Manager and President respectively. They submitted papers to the DIOS for attestation of the signature of the Manager. Similarly, Nagendra Singh respondent No. 2, submitted papers claiming to have been elected as Manager with Sri Lakshmi Narain Giri as President in the election held in 1995 and Sri Kuldeep Singh respondent No. 4 also submitted papers claiming to have been elected as President with Sri Lakshmi Narain Giri as Manager in the said election. The DIOS made a reference under Section 16-A(7) of the Act to the DDE to decide the dispute. The DDE, on consideration of the matter held by the order dated 8.10.1995 (Annexure 16 to Writ Petition No. 36325 of 1995) that the Committee of Management with Sri Ram Bilas Singh as Manager and Sri Jang Bahadur Singh as president was duly elected in the election held on 5.2.1995 and further held that the said Committee of Management was validly constituted and was in effective control of the Institution.
4. Respondents Nos. 1 and 2 of the appeal filed Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 36325 of 1995 challenging the order of DDE dated 8.10.1995, while respondents Nos. 3 and 4 challenged the self-same order in writ petition No. 38072 of 1995. Sri Bageshwari Singh respondent No. 5 filed Writ Petition No. 37775 of 1995 challenging the order dated 29.1.995 of the DDE (Annexure 9 to Writ Petition No. 37775 of 1995) in which the authority had held that Ram Bilas Singh and Jang Bahadur Singh were duly elected as Manager and President respectively of the Committee of Management in the election held on 8.2.1992. The main ground of challenge against the election held on 8.2.1992 was that the election was held by a Committee of Management whose term had expired and under the amended scheme of Administration the election could be held only by the Prabandh Sanchalak appointed by the DDE. The three writ petitions were disposed of by the impugned judgment, the operative portion of which has been quoted earlier.
5. From the discussions made in the impugned judgment, it is clear that the reason, which weighed with the learned Single Judge to hold that both the elections held on 8.2.1992 and 5.2.1995 were invalid, was that on the dismissal of Writ Petition No. 2375 of 1983 as infructuous on 15.11.1991, the order of the Joint Director of Education holding the election held on 22.8.1981 as invalid revived and in the absence of any subsequent order of the competent authority or Court to the contrary, the Committee of Management elected on 22.8.1981 was invalid and, therefore, the said Committee had no authority to hold a fresh election. It follows as a consequence that the election said to have been held on 8.2.1992 by the Committee of Management, which was held to be invalid, was also invalid and applying the same principle the further election held on 5.2.1995 by the Committee of Management said to have been elected on 8.2.1992, was also invalid. The correctness of the judgment is under challenge in this appeal.
6. The thrust of the submissions of Sri P.N. Saxena, learned Counsel for the appellants, was that the learned Single Judge was in error in holding that on the dismissal of Writ Petition No. 2375 of 1983 as infructuous the order of the Joint Director of Education dated 11.1.1983 automatically revived. His further submission was that the elections held on 8.2.1992 and 5.2.1995 were held by the Committees of Management of the Institution with the approval of the DIOS and, therefore, the said elections could not be held to be illegal and invalid merely on the ground that the Committees of Management which held those elections, had not been duly elected.
7. Learned Counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, submitted that the learned Single Judge, in the facts and circumstances of the case, rightly directed the DDE to appoint a Prabandh Sanchalak to hold a fresh election of the Committee of Management in the manner directed in the impugned judgment in accordance with Scheme of Administration of the Institution and the Rules.
8. On careful consideration of the entire matter, we are of the considered view that the impugned judgment does not suffer from any serious illegality or infirmity which warrants interference in the appeal. The position has to be taken as well settled that it is not open to the Committee of Management of an Institution or its office bearers to hold an election after the term of the Committee of Management has come to an end. Any order of the DIOS attesting the signature of the Manager of such invalid Committee of Management cannot cure the invalidity in the constitution of the Committee.
9. A Division Bench of this Court in the case of Prithvi Pal Tripathi v. District Inspector of Schools, Jaunpur and Ors., 1993 All. C.J. 158 : (1993) 1 UPLBEC 355 (DB), referring to the Scheme of Administration of the Institution, held that the term of the Committee of Management is three years one month and the right to hold the election of the Committee of Management cames to an end on expiry of the said period and any election held by the Committee of Management after the expiry of the period would be illegal. Reliance was placed on the decisions in the cases of Committee of Management Sri Gandhi Inter College v. Deputy Director of Education, Meerut,1989 A.L.J. 214 : (1988) 2 UPLBEC 1057 (DB), and Committee of Management Sri Krishna Inter College, Nibari, Ghaziabad and Anr. v. District Inspector of Schools, Ghaziabad, 1991 All. C.J. 234 : (1991) 1 UPLBEC 646. This Court further held that the term of the Committee of Management cannot be treated to have been extended by its remaining in effective control of the Institution and that would not empower the Committee of Management to hold the election after expiry of the term of the Committee of Management as provided under the Scheme of Administration. The validity and term of the Committee of Management has to be determined in accordance with the provisions contained in the Scheme of Administration.
10. A similar view was taken in the case of Ram Kripal Singh and Anr. v. Committee of Management, Uchchttar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Newarhiya District Jaunpur and Ors., (1993) 1 UPLBEC 344, in which it was held that the Committee of Management, which is alleged to have been elected on 5.5.86 ceased to exist with effect from 4.6.1989 and thereafter no election can be held by such committee, thereafter the only authority who is entitled to hold election of the Committee of Management of the College is the Prabandh Sanchalak, who is to be appointed by the Deputy Director of Education. The view was reiterated in the case of Committee of Management Brig. Hoshir Singh Memorial Inter College, Shamli and Anr. v. The Deputy Director of Education, 1st Region, Meerut and Ors., reported in 1994 E.S.C. 328 (Alld.): (1994) 3 UPLBEC 1728 (DB).
11. Testing the case in hand on the touch-stone of the well accepted principles laid down in the aforementioned decided cases, the position that emerges is that after the dismissal of Writ Petition 2375 of 1983 on 15.11.1991 as infructuous the fresh election was to be held only by a Prabandh Sanchalak appointed by the Deputy Director of Education of the concerned region. The Committee of Management, whose election had been declared to be illegal and invalid by the Joint Director of Education and whose term of office had come to an end, has no authority to hold such election. Indisputably, the election said to have been held on 8.2.1992 was not held by the Prabandh Sanchalak but was allegedly held by the Committee of Management with Sri Kuldeep Singh as President and Sri Jang Bahadur Singh as Manager. Therefore, the election was illegal and the Committee of Management said to have been elected in that election was invalid. Such invalid Committee had also no authority to hold the fresh election said to have been held on 5.2.1995. The position is not disputed that election, was also not held by a Prabandh Sanchalak appointed by the DDE. Therefore, the learned Single Judge was not right in directing a fresh election to be held under the supervision of the Managing Director appointed by the Joint Director of Education, Vth Region, Varanasi, Since the election is to be held in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme of Administration of the Institution and as noted earlier the Scheme of Administration, as amended in 1985, provides that in such circumstances the DDE of the concerned region will appoint a Prabandh Sanchalak for holding the election, the said provision is to be followed while holding the election of the Committee of Management. In this view of the matter the Joint Director, Vth Region, Varanasi will issue necessary instructions to the Deputy Director of Education of the concerned region to appoint a Prabandh Sanchalak to hold the election of the Committee of Management in accordance with the direction given in the judgment of the learned Single Judge and in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme of Administration of the Institution and in accordance with law, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the direction. A copy of this judgment along with a copy of the judgment of the learned Single Judge will be sent to the Joint Director, Vth Region, Varanasi forthwith. The order of the learned Single Judge is modified to this extent only.
12. The Special Appeal is disposed of in the above terms. There will be no order for costs.