A.Arulanandam v. St.Antony Elementary School,

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 28.02.2020

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE Mrs. JUSTICE PUSHPA SATHYANARAYANA AND THE HONOURABLE Mrs.JUSTICE T.KRISHNAVALLI C.M.P.(MD)No.7629 of 2019 in W.A.(MD)No.1533 of 2018 in W.P.(MD)No.17951 of 2018 A.Arulanandam .. Petitioner/Respondent No.4 Vs.

1. St. Antony's Elementary School, Kallathupatti School Education Committee, rep. by its Secretary, A.Alexis ...1st Respondent/Appellant

2. The Chief Educational Officer, Dindigul.

3. The District Educational Officer, Dindigul.

4. The Block Development Officer, Dindigul Rural, Dindigul District.

.. Respondents 2 to 4/ Respondents 1 to 3 * * * Prayer : Civil Miscellaneous Petition filed under Order IX Rule 13 read with 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure praying to recall the order dated 01.11.2018 passed in W.A.(MD)No.1533 of 2018 on the file of this Court.

Prayer in WA(MD). 1533/ 2018 :

Writ Appeal filed under clause 15 of the Letters patent against the order, dated 31.03.2018 made in WP(MD)No.17951 of 2018, on the file of this Court.

Prayer in WP(MD). 17951/ 2018 :

Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this Court To issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the records pertaining to the order passed by the 2nd respondent in his proceedings in Na.Ka.No.3624/A2/2018 dated 05.07.2018 and quash the same and direct the respondents 2 and 3 to approve the School Committee proposal submitted by the petitioner dated 17.01.2018. * * *

For Petitioner :

Mr.M.E.Ilango For Respondents :

Mr.V.Paneerselvam for R1 Ms.S.Srimathy, Special Govt. Pleader for RR 2 to 4

O R D E R

The petitioner, who was the fourth respondent before this Court in W.A.(MD) No.1533 of 2018, has filed this petition seeking to recall the order dated 01.11.2018 made therein.

2. The background facts leading to the filing of this petition would run infra :

(i) The petitioner claims that he is the Secretary of St. Antony's Aided Primary School Committee, which was established by his father in the year 1949. Due to age related difficulties, his father, by an resolution, transferred the Educational Agency to one Mr.Innasi Muthu, which was recorded in the proceedings of the first respondent dated 22.01.2009. On 01.01.2012, the educational agency was transferred in the name of the petitioner, which was also recorded by the respondents in the proceedings dated 26.04.2013 and since then he has been managing the affairs. When he submitted a proposal dated 05.05.2018 for approval to the third respondent for fresh school committee for a period of three years from 07.12.2017, the same was refused by the first respondent on 29.05.2018 on the ground that a writ petition is pending in W.P.(MD) No.

4648 of 2018, at the instance of his brother one Mr.Alexis. Subsequently, the school was brought under the direct payment vide order dated 05.07.2018, which he questioned in W.P.(MD)No.16647 of 2018 with a further prayer to approve the school committee. The very same order was also questioned by his brother in W.P.(MD)No.17951 of 2018 seeking a further direction to the respondents therein to approve the proposal submitted by him on 17.01.2018.

(ii) The Writ Court by a common order dated 31.08.2018 dismissed all the three writ petitions observing that this Court in exercise of its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, cannot adjudicate the factual dispute between the parties concerned and thus, directed the parties to approach the appropriate Civil Court in order to establish their rival claims against each of them.

(iii) The brother of the petitioner Mr.Alexis questioned the order of the writ Court in W.A.(MD)No.1533 of 2018, which was disposed of on 01.11.2018 with a direction to the second respondent herein to consider the claim of the appellant/writ petitioner therein in terms of Form VII, that is approved by the educational authorities.

(iv) Claiming that he was not heard while disposing of the said writ appeal, though he was the fourth respondent therein, the petitioner sought to review the said order.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that no notice

was served on the petitioner and he was not given an opportunity of being heard in the writ appeal filed by his brother. It is his submission that the petitioner has filed W.A.(MD)No.1573 of 2019 and this Court dismissed the same vide order dated 26.11.2018 and since there are two rival orders passed by two different Benches, the order has to be recalled.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the first respondent and the learned Special Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the respondents 2 and 3 and perused the materials placed before this Court.

5. At the outset, it is to be stated that it cannot be stated that there are two rival orders passed by this Court. The Writ Court passed the order as early as on 31.08.2018 directing the parties to approach the Civil Court. The Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973 and the Rules framed therein govern the subject school, as per which, the dispute, if any, as to the constitution of a School Committee, required to be adjudicated only by the Civil Court having jurisdiction and not by the educational authorities (See Section 53-A of the said Act). Thus, the order of the Writ Court cannot be found fault with.

6. However, when W.A.(MD)No.1533 of 2018 was taken up for hearing on 01.11.2018, the petitioner did not approach the jurisdictional Civil Court in terms of Section 53-A of the Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973. In the event, if the petitioner approached the civil court and obtained any interim relief against the first respondent herein, who is duty bound to produce the same before this Court in W.A.(MD)No.1533 of 2018, then the order dated 01.11.2018 would not have been passed, and it is for the parties to approach the authorities with the order of the Civil Court and the authorities would have acted in terms of the order of the Civil Court.

7. Having found that there is no interim order operating against the parties, this Court recording the submission of the learned counsel for the first respondent herein/appellant in W.A. (MD)No.1533 of 2019 that the Form VII filed by him was approved on 24.09.2018, only directed the authorities to consider the claim of the first respondent in terms of Form VII. It is not the case of the petitioner that the said Form was not approved by the authorities. As rightly held by the Writ Court, this Court cannot go into the factual aspects of the matter and it is within the domain of the Civil Court to undertake such an exercise and the petitioner can very well question the approval before the appropriate forum.

Thus, if the petitioner is aggrieved over the order of the authorities approving the Form VII, it is for him to take up the issue in accordance with law.

in W.A.(MD) No.1533 of 2019/the first respondent herein, the authorities would not have proceeded with the matter.

8. Further, the other Division Bench in the order dated 26.11.2018 in WA (MD)No.1573 of 2018, after recording the submissions of the parties, dismissed the appeal and also made it clear that the observations made in the said order were only for the purpose of disposing of the said writ appeal and the civil court may decide the rights of the parties uninfluenced by any of the observations made by this Court in the said appeal. Thus, the petitioner cannot take umbrage under the observations made by the Division Bench in the order dated 26.11.2018 and also cannot say that there are rival orders. On the other hand, from the above narration, it is clear that there are no rival orders passed by this Court, as claimed by the learned counsel for the petitioner.

9. In the result, the petitioner has not made out any ground warranting this Court to recall the order dated 01.11.2018. Accordingly, this miscellaneous petition is dismissed as devoid of merits. No costs. It is open to the petitioner to take any action in the manner known to law, if he is so advised. Sd/- Assistant Registrar (P AND A) // True Copy // / /2020 Sub Assistant Registrar(CS) gg To

1. The Chief Educational Officer, Dindigul.

2. The District Educational Officer, Dindigul.

3. The Block Development Officer, Dindigul Rural, Dindigul District.

+1 cc to Mr.V.Paneerselvam, ,Advocate, SR No.9508 C.M.P.(MD)No.7629 of 2019 in W.A.(MD)No.1533 of 2018 in W.P.(MD)No.17951 of 2018 28.02.2020 KK/11.03.2020/ 4P- 5C