Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

4. In view of the above reference, the question falls for our consideration is, Whether the obligation of the State to provide free and compulsory education, can force private educationists over which the Government has no administrative control to ensure equal pay for equal work?

5. Pursuant to the conversion of Matriculation Schools to the control of Board of Matriculation Schools, the private Schools are guided by the Code of Regulations for Matriculation Schools [hereinafter referred to as 'the Code']. The fact remains that the appellant is an unaided Christian minority school established and administered by a society of Catholic nuns for which, indisputably, the recognition was obtained only on the basis of the said Code.

10. The issue got triggered with the filing of writ of mandamus in W.P. No. 604 of 2004 by one Sorubarani, since deceased, who joined the service in the year 1989 under the appellant management, viz., Arokiamada Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Pollachi, and was subsequently terminated in 2001, seeking for direction to the Management for implementation of pay fixation on par with the teachers in the Government Schools. The learned single Judge by order dated 09.6.2009, allowed the Writ Petition directing the Management to fix the scale of pay guided by Rule 16(ii) of the Code of Regulations for Matriculation Schools. Challenging the same, the Management has preferred the present Writ Appeal. Since the earlier judgment on the same lines was sub-judice before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, this Writ Appeal was kept pending and in view of the pronouncement of the judgment in S.L.P. (C) No. 26743 of 2008 on 22.7.2014 dismissing the Special Leave Petition preferred by the Management, the present reference is before this Larger Bench.

19. In order to appreciate the issue in hand, it is necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the Code. Annexure VII read with Article 22 of the Code deals with the code of conduct for teachers and other persons employed in a Matriculation School as per which every teaching and non-teaching staff of a Matriculation School enters into an agreement. It is also to be seen that there is no clause of pre-condition to give salary on par with the Government teachers. Moreover, the Code of Regulations for Matriculation Schools is only a Code and only an enabling provision, which has no statutory effect and cannot be enforced in a Court of law.