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AWES runs about 139 schools all over the country. On 28 February 2012, a letter was addressed to the staff of the school indicating that those among the teachers who are eligible in terms of CBSE guidelines would be considered for appointment on ad hoc basis for one year and would have to appear and qualify in a written test under AWES Rules and the teachers will be paid salary at par with the service conditions applicable to other teachers of the Army Public Schools. This gave rise to the filing of a writ petition before the High Court of Uttarakhand. The Single Civil Appeals @ SLP (C) Nos. 3138-3141/2021 & 3133-3137/2021 Judge allowed the writ petition by issuing a mandamus to the petitioners not to vary the service conditions of the teaching and nonteaching staff to their disadvantage. During the pendency of the proceedings before the Division Bench in appeal, an order was passed by the High Court on 6 January 2016. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the order read as follows:

“3. BEG has decided to run the institution as an Army School under the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES), which has also come up in appeal against the judgment. According to AWES, it is running 134 schools all over India. They have a complaint that, at present, for the past two years since 1st April 2012, they are collecting fees at the rates they are collecting in the other Army Public Schools and, yet, they have been compelled to pay the salary, which is being paid to the teachers earlier by St. Gabriel’s, which was in fact collecting far more fees and there is a huge deficit. According to them, they will not terminate the services of the teachers and non-teaching staff, if AWES is permitted to take over; but, they will be paid the salary in terms of the standards, which they have in respect of the other Army Public Schools. It is their case that they are prepared to allow the teachers and non-teaching staff to continue, provided some modalities are complied with, relevance of which may not present itself immediately. According to the teachers and non-teaching staff, they have a right to continue as such.
4. We would think that the interest of justice requires that the arrangement, which has been ordered by the Court in Writ Petition No. 776 of 2015 (M/S) must be modified.

Civil Appeals @ SLP (C) Nos. 3138-3141/2021 & 3133-3137/2021 Accordingly, we modify the order and direct that AWES can take over the management of the school and the teaching and other non- teaching staff will be allowed to continue, however, with the modification that the pay will be such as they would be entitled to treating it as another Army Public School. This arrangement will be provisional and subject to the result of the litigation and without prejudice to the contentions of the parties. The Committee will handover the management to the AWES upon production of a certified copy of this order. The accounts, etc., will also be handed over to the Principal of the school. We record the submission of the learned counsel appearing for St Gabriel's that they will handover the amount representing gratuity, earned leave encashment and the installment of the sixth pay commission directly to the teachers and other nonteaching staff. We make it clear that the school can be run in terms of the Rules of AWES otherwise. The payment of salary as per AWES can commence from 1st January, 2016.”

4. The Division Bench eventually dismissed the Special Appeal against the judgment of the Single Judge, which has given rise to the proceedings before this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution.

5. On behalf of the petitioners, it was submitted that the teaching and nonteaching staff were employees of St Gabriel’s Academy and since the erstwhile management has ceased to conduct the school, the staff would have no claim as against AWES which is conducting the school, at present.

6. In order to resolve the dispute, a suggestion has been made by learned counsel for the petitioners to Civil Appeals @ SLP (C) Nos. 3138-3141/2021 & 3133-3137/2021 the effect that the teaching and non-teaching staff of the erstwhile school which is continuing with the present school, which is conducted by AWES, would be continued on a permanent basis. However, it has been submitted that their conditions of service will be those which are applicable to the teaching and non- teaching staff of Army Public Schools. It has been submitted that under the judgment of the High Court the petitioners would be obligated to provide service conditions at par with the teaching and nonteaching staff which was recruited by the erstwhile management which would involve an outlay which the Army Public School will not be in a financial position to meet. That apart, it has been submitted that there cannot be two sets of service conditions in respect of the same school.