Patna High Court
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CIVIL WRIT JURISDICTION CASE NO.7022 OF 2013 =================================================== 1.MAHILA MAHAVIDYALAYA , JANAKPUR ROAD, SITAMARHI (CODE NO. 3223) THROUGH ITS INCHARGE PRINCIPAL SMT. RITA KUMARI. 2.SMT. RITA KUMARI, INCHARGE PRINCIPAL, MAHILA MAHAVIDYALAY, JANAKPUR ROAD, SITAMARHI. .... .... PETITIONER/S VERSUS 1.THE STATE OF BIHAR THROUGH THE DIRECTOR (SECONDARY EDUCATION), BIHAR, PATNA. 2.BIHAR SCHOOL EXAMINATION (HIGHER SECONDARY) BOARD, PATNA THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN. 3.DR. LALLAN JHA, SECRETARY, SCHOOL EXAMINATION BOARD, PATNA. 4.DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICER, SITAMARHI. 5.DR. MAHESH KUMAR SON OF YOGENDRA PRASAD RESIDENT OF NAGESHWAR-STHAN, JANAKPUR ROAD, SITAMARHI, P.S PUPRI, DISTRICT SITAMARHI. 6.SMT. RAJ KUMARI GUPTA W/O SHRI LALDHARI PRASAD RESIDENT OF PUPRI BAZAR, JANAKPUR ROAD, P.S. PUPRI, DISTRICT SITAMARHI. .... .... RESPONDENT/S =================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MIHIR KUMAR JHA ORAL ORDER 2/ 02-05-2013 Heard counsel for the parties. The prayer of the petitioner in this writ application reads as follows:- "An appropriate writ, order or direction quashing the order of the respondent no. 3 dated 29.12.2012 as contained in Annexure-10 as well as the letter dated 12.02.2013 issued by him as contained in Annexure-12, be issued. An appropriate writ, order or the commanding direction respondents, the respondent no.3 to forbear from interfering in any way with the functioning of the College as per decision of the Board as contained in Annexure-7, be issued." specially
Legal Reasoning
Patna High Court CWJC No.7022 of 2013 (2) dt.02-05-2013 2
Legal Reasoning
Mr. Yogendra Mishra, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner- institution has submitted that once this Court in the writ application filed by Dr. Mahesh Kumar in C.W.J.C No. 1327 of 2013, respondent no. 5 of this case by its order dated 22.01.2013 had refused to interfere with the
Decision
order passed by the Board on 29.11.2012(annexure-7) it was not open for the Secretary to the Board to pass the order for distribution of form through the D.E.O as has been done by him by his order dated 12.02.2013 inasmuch as the Board is not required to interfere in the internal functioning of the College. In the considered opinion of this Court the Board has to decide the matter relating to examination which in turn involves fate and future of the students by accepting their fees and forms of the genuine students because only genuine students can be allowed to appear in the examination. Where the institution is said to have more than two principals and two secretaries, the Board finds it difficult to decide as to whose signature on the form and fees submitted by the students for appearaing Patna High Court CWJC No.7022 of 2013 (2) dt.02-05-2013 3 in the examination should be accepted in capacity of the head of the institution. Learned Counsel for the Board has rightly referred to the order dated 07.02.2013 passed in C.W.J. C No. 1888 of 2013 (Minnie Kumari Vs The Bihar School Examination Board) relevant portion whereof reads as follows:- for has submitted institution the while the learned counsel for the petitioner that irrespective of the dispute on the post of Principal of the college, in question, the Admit Card should be handed over to the petitioner claiming to be In-charge Principal of the college, the stand taken by the Bihar School Examination Board (in short BSEB) in the counter affidavit is that such dispute cannot be resolved by the BSEB, inasmuch as, the institution is a and private only affiliated examination purpose to the BSEB. It has also been submitted by Mr. Lalit Kishore, learned AAG-1 for the BSEB that the fate and future of the students of the college cannot be allowed to be blocked in the ongoing dispute on the post of Principal/Professor In- charge and, therefore, the Admit Card of the ensuing examination commencing from 18.2.2013 shall be handed over to the District Education Officer, Madhepura who will do the needful for distributing the Admit Card to the eligible students. The District Madhepura, Officer, Education therefore, on receipt of the Admit Card from the BSEB, shall ensure that he will distribute the Admit Card in the college premises so that none of the eligible students suffer on account of non-supply of the Admit Card to them. effect with The Secretary to the BSEB, who Patna High Court CWJC No.7022 of 2013 (2) dt.02-05-2013 4 Inter College, is present in person for assisting this Court in all these cases, has undertaken that the Admit Card of the students of Dr. Narayani Upendra Yadav Phulkaha, Madhepura shall be distributed on 10.2.2013 and will be made available to the District Education Officer, Madhepura by 11.2.2013. The District Education Officer, Madhepura is hereby start distributing the Admit Card in the college premises between 10 AM to 12 PM every day from 12.2.2013 to 14.2.2013 ensuring that all the Admit Cards are either given to the student or thereafter they are given opportunity to collect the same from the office of the District Education Officer, Madhepura. directed to the for Its being a purely temporary arrangement present examination, any person now claiming the right of either submitting the form or receive the Admit Card on behalf of the school, in such a dispute, will have to obtain a declaration from the civil court, inasmuch as, this is a private institution and the BSEB cannot decide such question of fact. As would be noted that this Court in the aforesaid order has clarified that the institutions are wholly private institutions and the Board has only a limited role confined to the affairs of holding the examination by allowing only genuine students to appear in the same. That infact has been precisely done by the order of the Secretary to the Board on 12.02.2013 and that cannot be treated to be interference into the affairs of the Patna High Court CWJC No.7022 of 2013 (2) dt.02-05-2013 5 institution of the petitioner. The petitioner- institution in fact wants the College to be closed for an indefinite period till the Civil Suit may be decided by the competent court. The Secretary of the Board has only devised the way in which the forms and fees of the petitioner-institution may be accepted and its genuine students may be allowed to appear in the examination conducted by the Board. Such recourse taken by the Secretary to the Board is absolutely correct, inasmuch as, namely, the District Education Officer, Sitamarhi, an independent authority was authorized to distribute the admit card of the students for appearing in the examination. There can be no difficulty in accepting the submission of Mr. Yogendra Mishra that apart from the affairs of conducting the examination of the petitioner-institution its functioning cannot be interfered by the Board being its internal matter. Infact the order dated 12.2.2013 of the Secretary to the Board which has been referred to by Mr. Mishra would itself go to show that it is only for the purposes for distributing the admit card of the genuine students of the institution for Patna High Court CWJC No.7022 of 2013 (2) dt.02-05-2013 6 appearing in the examination that certain instructions were issued. It is however made clear that the Board and/or Secretary or for that purpose even the District Education Officer, Sitamarhi interfere in the internal administrative matter or functioning of the school. The other grievance of Mr. Mishra as with regard to identity or shifting of the institution it is made clear that neither the Board has anything to do with the same nor any thing has been done in this regard by the Board. Any one aggrieved on the issue of school being shifted to any other place will have to again move the Civil Court for establishing identity of the original institution. Therefore if the civil suit already filed by respondent no. 5 covers the same issue it would be automatically open for anyone to also contest that suit for getting this aspect also adjudicated by the competent civil court. With the aforesaid observations and directions this application is disposed of. Ranjan (Mihir Kumar Jha, J)