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PETITIONER: COMMISSIONER, LUCKNOW DIVISION AND ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: KUMARI PREM LATA MISRA

DATE OF JUDGMENT26/10/1976

BENCH: GUPTA, A.C. BENCH: GUPTA, A.C. CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. GOSWAMI, P.K.

CITATION:  1977 AIR  334            1977 SCR  (1) 957  1976 SCC  (4) 486

ACT:             U.P.  Intermediate  Education  Act,  1921,--Whether  the         basic section of a college is within the scope of.

HEADNOTE:             The  respondent, an assistant teacher in the basic  sec-         tion of the Colvin Taluqdar’s college, Lucknow, was suspend-         ed and then removed from service, by the managing  committee         of the college.  She flied a writ petition in the High Court         challenging her dismissal order, contending that it violated         the regulations framed under the (U.P.) Intermediate  Educa-         tion  Act, 1921. The appellants  contended  that  the   col-         lege   was   running  the  basic Section  independently  and         without  any affiliation or grants  from the  Government  or         any local body, and that the said Act did not apply.             The  Single Judge of the High Court dismissed  the  Writ         petition  as none of the opposite parties was a  public  au-         thority.   An appeal  was allowed by a Division Bench of the         High  Court  on  the ground that the basic  Section  was  an         integral  part  of  the college and was run  by  a  Managing         Committee constituted under the Intermediate Education Act.         Allowing the appeal the Court,             HELD:  The  provisions of the Act relate  to  recognized         institutions; recognition is by the Board for the purpose of         preparing  candidates for admission to the Board’s  examina-         tion; Board means the  Board of High School  and  lntermedi-         ate Education.  The basic section of a college cannot there-         fore be part of a recognised institution.  It is not correct         to  think  that  since  Section 16A of the  Act  requires  a         college  to  have a committee of  management,    a  managing         committee that looks after the affairs of the basic  section         of the college must also be functioning as a statutory  body         discharging duties under the Act and governed by the regula-         tions  framed thereunder.  An institution by  extending  its         operation  to fields beyond that covered by the Act   cannot         extend  the ambit of the Act to include in its sweep,  these         new  fields of education which are. outside its scope.  [959         C-G]

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JUDGMENT:         CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 343 of 1974.             (Appeal  by  special leave from the Judgment  and  Order         dated  11-9-1973  of  the  Allahabad  High  Court   (Lucknow         Bench) in Spl. Appeal No. 118/71).         D. Mukherjee and C.P. Lal for the appellant.             Akhtar  Hussain,  S.N. Prasad and D.N.  Misra,  for  the         respondent         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by             GUPTA, J.--Colvin Taluqdars’ College  in Lucknow, run by         a  society registered under the Societies Registration  Act,         imparts education at the following different stages:         (i) Pre-basic i.e., nursery classes.         (ii) Junior basic, called primary stage, from class I to V.         (iii)  Senior basic i.e., Junior high  school   stage   from         class VI to VIII, and         958         (iv)  Higher   secondary  stage, called high  school  stage-         classes IX and X.         (b) Intermediate stage--Classes XI and XII             In the beginning the college had no pre-basic or  junior         basic classes and started with class VI; classes I to V  and         nursery  classes    were opened later.  The  respondent  was         appointed  an assistant teacher in the basic section of  the         college  in  1961.   Following certain  incidents  involving         her,  she  was suspended on or about August  20,  1970.  and         ultimately  her  services were terminated  by  the  managing         committee  of the college some time in October  1970.    She         flied  a writ petition in the High Court at Allahabad  (Luc-         know  Bench) alleging inter alia that the order  terminating         her  services was mala fide and made   in violation  of  the         regulations  framed under the (U.P.) Intermediate  Education         Act, 1921.  She asked for a writ of certiorari  quashing the         order of suspension and the order terminating her  services,         and a writ of mandamus directing the opposite parties to pay         the  full salary and emoluments due to her.   The  president         of the managing committee of the college, the principal, the         head  mistress  of the basic section and  the  committee  of         management were impleaded as opposite parties 1, 2, 3, and 4         respectively.    The  writ  petition was  dismissed  by    a         single Judge of the High Court on a preliminary ground  that         none of the opposite parties was a public authority and  the         impugned orders suspending her and terminating her  services         were  not made in   the exercise of any statutory  function.         On appeal a Division Bench  of the High Court took the  view         that  the basic section of the college was an integral  part         of  the college and held that the managing committee of  the         college was a statutory body constituted under the  Interme-         diate  Education Act and governed by the regulations  framed         thereunder.    The Division Bench therefore found  the  writ         petition  maintainable and remanded the case to  the  single         Judge to be decided on merits.             The  Intermediate  Education  Act,  1921,  as  its  long         title-shows,  is an Act for the establishment of a Board  of         High  School and Intermediate Education.  The preamble  says         that it was enacted because it was expedient to establish  a         Board  to  take  the place of the  Allahabad  University  in         regulating and supervising  the  system  of  High school and         Intermediate   education  in the United  Provinces,  and  to         prescribe courses therefore.  Section 2 of the Act  defines,         among  other terms, Board.   Institution,  and  Recognition.         Board  means    the Board of High  School  and  Intermediate         Education.  Institution means the whole of an institution or         a  part  thereof,  as the case may   be.  Recognition  means         recognition  for  the purpose of  preparing  candidates  for

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       admission  to the Board’s examination.   Admittedly,  Colvin         Taluqdars’  College is a recognised institution.  Section  7         which   defines the powers of the Board,  after  enumerating         certain specific powers, states that the Board will have the         power "to do all such other acts and things as may be requi-         site in order to further the objects of the Board as a  body         constituted  for regulating and supervising High School  and         Intermediate Education".   The powers mentioned in section 7         all  relate to High school and Intermediate classes.    Sec-         tion 16-A lays         down that for every recognised institution there shall be  a         scheme  of  administration which must provide,  among  other         matters, for the constitution of a committee of  management.         Section  16-B and section 16-C deal with the preparation  of         the  scheme of administration.  Section 16-D authorises  the         Director  of Uttar Pradesh to cause inspection of  a  recog-         nized  institution from time to time and order  the  removal         of any defect found on inspection. Sections 16E, 16F and 16G         provide for the qualifications and the conditions of service         of  the  teachers Of  a recognized institution.    Thus  all         these  sections are confined in their application to  recog-         nized  institutions  only.   Regulations have   been  framed         under the Act in respect of matters covered by section  16-A         to  section 16-G.   Regulations 31 to 45 in Chapter  III  of         the Regulations deal with the subject of punishment, enquiry         and suspension of the employees of a recognized institution.         It is said that the suspension and dismissal of the respond-         ent was not in accordance with these regulations.             It  seems clear from the provisions set out  above  that         they  all relate to recognized institutions; recognition  is         by  the  Board for the purpose of preparing  candidates  for         admission to the Board’s   examination, and Board means  the         Board of High School and Intermediate Education.  The  basic         section of a school cannot therefore be part of a recognized         institution.    We are unable to agree with the  view  taken         by  the  Division  Bench of the High Court  that  the  basic         section  is  an integral part of the institution and  there-         fore must be governed by the provisions of the  Intermediate         Education  Act, 1921.   A school by extending its  operation         to  fields beyond that covered by the Act cannot extend  the         ambit of the Act to include in its sweep these new fields of         education  which  are outside its scope.  The  case  of  the         appellants on this point appears from the  counter-affidavit         filed  by them in answer to the writ petition.   It is  said         that "the college is running the Basic Section independently         and  is neither registered by the Government nor  affiliated         by  any  local body-and neither any grant in  aid  is  being         taken  by  the department to run this  section  accordingly.         The college has its own rules and regulations to conduct the         Basic Section."   It is not correct to think that since  the         college has to have a committee of management as required by         section  16-A,  a managing committee that  looks  after  the         affairs  of  the Basic Section of the college must  also  be         functioning as a statutory body discharging duties under the         Intermediate  Education Act and governed by the  Regulations         framed  thereunder.   The Division Bench sought support  for         the view it had taken from some provisions in the Education-         al  Code  of Uttar Pradesh but, as pointed  by  the  learned         single Judge, the Code is only a compilation of the  various         administrative  rules  and orders  relating  to  educational         institutions in the State and has no statutory force.    For         the  reasons stated above, it must be held that  the  appel-         lants were not discharging any statutory function in  making         the  impugned orders affecting the respondent.   The  appeal         is accordingly allowed, the Judgment of  the Division  Bench

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       is set aside and that of the Single Judge   restored.  There         will be no order as to costs.         M.R.                                            Appeal   al-         lowed.         960