The Government Of Tamil Nadu vs Shri Shanthi Vijay Educational Trust on 6 July, 2022
2. It is the claim of the respondent/writ petitioner that the Jain Schools
Association is a registered society under the Tamil Nadu Societies
Registration Act, 1975 bearing Regn.No.40/90 and all the members of the
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Association are from Jain community and are the followers and devotees of
Guru Sri Shanthi Vijai Maharaj. As on date, the Association is administering
and managing seven institutions in the District of Nilgiris, namely, (i) Sri
Shanthi Vijay Girls Higher Secondary School, Ootacamund; (ii) Sri Shanthi
Vijay Primary School, Ettines Road, Ootacamund; (iii) Sri Shanthi Vijay
Nursery & Primary School, Ootacamund; (iv) Sri Shanthi Vijay Girls Higher
Secondary School, Coonoor; (v) Sri Shanthi Vijay Primary School, Mount
Pleasant, Coonoor; (vi) Sri Shanthi Vijay Nursery & Primary School,
Coonoor; (vii) Sri Shanthi Vijay Higher Secondary School, Masinagudi. The
main objective and mission of the said educational agency is to impart
education to the people belonging to socially and economically weaker
section of the society, more particularly, to provide education to girl
children. When the educational agency is founded and administered and
continuously run by the Rajasthan Jains, a religious and linguistic minority
not only in the State of Tamil Nadu, but in whole of India, and there is no
change in the constitution of the Association till date, the schools run by the
educational agency are entitled to continuous minority status as guaranteed
under Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India. It is also stated that the
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W.A.No.1866 of 2019
State Minority Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu, by letter dated
3.8.2003 addressed the first appellant informing that the Association is a
religious agency and it is established and being administered by Jain
Community people. Therefore, the first appellant in G.O.Ms.No.25, School
Education Department dated 4.3.2005 granted minority status to the
respondent Association as minority educational agency, however, restricted
the period for one year only. Once the respondent had satisfied all the
requirements for the grant of minority status and the appellants, after
satisfying that the respondent Association is a linguistic and religious
minority, have also granted the minority status to the schools run by the
educational agency, they cannot restrict the minority status for a particular
period, as there is no change in the membership of the society and the
constitution of the educational agency and its objects. Therefore, challenging
the restriction of minority status for a period of one year, the respondent
filed the writ petition and when the matter was taken up, the learned single
Judge, accepting the case of the writ petitioner, on the basis of the rulings
given by the Division Bench of this Court in Thirumuruga
Kirupanandavariyar Thavathiru Sundara Swamigal Medical Educational
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and Charitable Trust, Salem v. State of Tamil Nadu, 2001 (3) MLJ 433;
C.S.I. Institute of Technology, Thovalai represented by its Secretary
P.Dharmaraj v. The Government of Tamil Nadu represented by its
Secretary, Higher Education Department, 2004 Writ L.R.202 and another
order of this Court in W.P.No.18318 of 2009 dated 24.07.2017 (Church of
South India Trust Association v. The Government of Tamil Nadu and
others), allowed the writ petition, as against which the present appeal has
been filed.