PETITIONER:
DISTRICT PRIMARY EDUCATION OFFICER,MEHSANA ETC. ETC.
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
VIDOTEJAK MANDAL & ORS. ETC.
DATE OF JUDGMENT04/08/1995
BENCH:
RAMASWAMY, K.
HANSARIA B.L. (J)
CITATION:
1995 AIR 2397 1995 SCC (5) 324
1995 SCALE (4)707
ACT
HEADNOTE
JUDGMENT
THE 4TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1995 Present:
Hon’ble Mr. Justice K.Ramaswamy
Hon’ble Mr. Justice B.L.Hansaria Mr. Narayan Shetty, Sr. Adv. and Mr.S.C.Patel, Adv. with him for the Appellant in C.A.No. 7091/95 Mr.S.K.Dholakia, Sr. Adv. Mrs.H.Wahi, Adv. with him for the State of Gujarat. Mr.R.P. Bhatt, Sr. Adv. and Mr.M.N. Shroff, Adv. with him for the Respondents.
ORDER The following Order of the Court was delivered :
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.7091 OF 1995
(Arising out SLP [C] No.18381 of 1995) District Primary Education Officer, Mehsana etc. etc. v. Vidotejak Mandal & Ors. etc.
AND
CIVIL APPEAL Nos. 7092-93 of 1995
[Arising out of SLP (c) Nos.9626, 14744/95)
ORDER
Delay condoned. Leave granted.
These appeals by special leave arise from the Judgment of the Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court dated March 3, 1994 made in L.P.A. No. 129/93 and batch. Respondent No.1 is a Trust which is a recognized Institution running primary education schools. It claimed for grant-in-aid for one clerk and one peon, i.e., non-teaching staff. The appellants rejected the claim. When they approached under Art. 226, the High Court interpreted sub-rule (3) of Rule 115 of the Bombay Primary Education Act, 1949 holding that while a institution running more than one school is given grant-inaid to non-teaching staff the refusal thereof to a single school is violative of Art. 14. Direction, therefore, was given to accord grant-in-aid to the non-teaching staff of the respondent’s school.
The question, therefore, is whether the Institutions running single school are entitled to grant-in-aid for the non-teaching staff like clerk & peon. Rule 115 (1) and (3) reads thus:
Sub-rule (1). "Normally the grant paid
to an approved private school in any
year is the grant paid for that year and
shall be calculated on the number of
pupils in average attendance in the
school during the preceding year.
Provided that :-
(i) grant to an approved private school
during the first year of its existence
shall be based on the number of pupils
in average attendance in the school
during the first half of the school
year. Such grant shall not, however,
exceed three fourths of the estimated
expenditure of the school of the pay of
its teacher, during the year; and
(ii) no grant to an approved school
shall be paid in any year unless the
average attendance of pupils is 25 and
above during the year.
Explanation - In the case of two or more
approved schools conducted by an
Association or Society, the average
daily attendance shall be calculated by
adding together the actual number of
daily attendance of pupils of all the
schools conducted by the Association or
Society and dividing the total by the
number of schools so conducted."
Sub-rule (3). "Subject to the
instructions that may be issued by the
Director from time to time educational
bodies or associations conducting a
number of approved schools shall be
entitled to grant on overhead
expenditure at three fourths of their
approved expenditure under that head."
When a doubt has arisen whether the rule will be applied to the teaching staff as well, we directed the Government to clarify its stand. An additional affidavit has been filed on July 11, 1995 in which Dr. I.M. Patel, the Director of Primary Education stated in paragraph 2 thus :
"That the controversy involved in this
case is limited to the payment of grant
payable to non-teaching staff only. As
far as grant towards salary expenses of
teaching staff is concerned, it is being
paid to all the teacher of private
schools irrespective of the fact whether
an institution or trust runs one school
or more than one school. The percentage
of grant payable towards Salary expenses
to teaching staff varies from 85% to
95%. The copy of the resolution of
Education Department of Govt. of Gujarat
dated 11th October, 1977 is annexed
herewith and marked as Annexure "B". It
is further submitted that even in Govt.
Primary School there is no such practice
of appointing non-teaching staff like a
clerk or a peon. On the other hand if
there are more than 200 students then
one extra teacher is permitted to be
appointed. Moreover in such schools
clerical work is very less. The salaries
of teachers are directly paid by Govt.
through cheque. Moreover additional
teachers as aforesaid over the strength
of 200 students undertake the
responsibility of administrative,
clerical and other misc. kind of work if
necessary. Even where the institution
runs more than once school, the grant
towards the salary expenses of non-
teaching staff is not being paid. There
is not a single primary school in the
state of Gujarat where grant for such
expenses incurred under the overhead of
Non-teaching staff is paid."
It would thus be clear that they being not only as a matter of rule and also practice, no money is being paid by way of grant-in-aid or otherwise to any school either maintained by the Municipality or any statutory body. The administrative work is being got done by the appropriate persons including teachers even in Government Primary Schools as averred in the additional affidavit. We are of the opinion that the High Court was, therefore, not right in holding that there is a discrimination in denying the payment of grant-in-aid to the respondents for the nonteaching staff.
The appeals are accordingly allowed. No costs.