Make fair appointments: Supreme Court to minority education bodies

Source:- indiatimes.com

PANAJI: In a significant judgement that has a bearing on the procedure adopted by minority institutions in Goa in selecting principals for their schools, the Supreme Court has held that the institutions have to act fairly and in a transparent manner in matters of such appointments.

The apex court delivered its verdict recently on an appeal filed by a teacher, Ivy C da Conceicao against Diocesan Society and others. The Diocesan Society won the case in the high court of Bombay at Goa on the ground that a minority institution has autonomy in selecting its higher secondary school principals.

According to the appellant she was senior to four other teachers appointed as principals in schools run by the society. The minority institution argued that seniority is not the only criteria in selecting principals.

In a recent order, a division bench comprising justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Uday Umesh Lalit observed “autonomy of a minority institution does not dispense with the requirement to act fairly and in a transparent manner and the high court in exercise of its power of judicial review is entitled to examine fairness of selection process”.

Stating that the grievance of a citizen that he was treated unfairly cannot be ignored on the ground that a minority institution has autonomy or right of choice, the court added that the exercise of right of choice has to be fair, non-discriminatory and rational.

The Society contended before the Supreme Court that the claim of the appellant for the post of principal was duly considered and, in exercise of its right under Article 30 of the Constitution of India, it selected the most suitable candidate.

The bench noted: “We, thus, hold that while under the constitutional scheme, a “minority institution” is free to select and appoint a principal, without being bound by the principle of seniority alone, whether the appointment has been made fairly and reasonably and whether there is violation of right of an individual eligible candidate by the minority institution by not adopting fair procedure, is liable to be tested in exercise of power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution.”

The Supreme Court allowed Conceicao’s appeal and set aside the high court order of 2012 that had held that there was no fault in appointing the four principals to different schools. According to the high court, the minority educational institution is entitled to appoint a qualified person of its choice as principal, subject to the appointee having educational qualifications prescribed by the state government, and such a right cannot be taken away by rules and regulations.

However, the Supreme Court has remitted the case back to the high court for a fresh decision in accordance with the law.

The appellant had argued that appointments have been made in breach of rules as all the four respondents are not only junior to her, but also not within the zone of consideration for promotion to the post of principal. She said that in the seniority list of teachers, prepared by the Society, she was senior to the respondents.

The respondents in the case were Victoria D’Souza, principal, Rosary Higher Secondary School, Navelim, Trevor Barreto, principal, Fr Basilio Andrade Memorial Higher Secondary School, Majorda, Walter Socorro A Cabral, principal, Santa Cruz Higher Secondary School, Melba Leitao, principal, St Theresa’s Higher Secondary School, Candolim.