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Judgment
Harpreet Singh Brar, J.(Oral)
With the consent of parties, this common order shall dispose of above-mentioned civil writ petitions as all of them have arisen out of similar factual matrix, however, for the sake of brevity, the facts are taken from CWP-4354-2025.
Prayer in the present writ petition is for issuance of writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing the impugned order dated 07.12.2024 (Annexure P-1) vide which the petitioner has been illegally terminated by the respondent- College.
Learned counsel for the petitioner(s) inter alia contends that the petitioner was appointed as regular Clerk in the respondent-College w.e.f. 21.07.1999 and further, there is no dispute regarding the respondent-College being one of the affiliated college covered under the Haryana Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Act, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act, 1979). This Act is enacted to provide protection against the high-handedness of the College Managing Committees in regard to matters relating to service conditions, and to ensure security of service to the employees working in the non-government colleges. The aforesaid legislation is applicable to all the petitioners and the procedure regarding the dismissal/removal/reduction in rank or withholding of annual increment is provided under Section 7 of the Act, 1979, which creates a complete bar on the dismissal, removal, reduction in rank of any employee without conducting an inquiry and affording an opportunity of hearing to the employee concerned. However, in the complete departure from the provisions of the Act, 1979 the petitioner was straight-way removed from service vide impugned order dated 07.12.2024 (Annexure P-1). The petitioner has rendered more than 23 years of service, as such, a sudden removal is contrary to the statutory mandate of the Act, 1979. As such, without issuing of show cause notice and following the mandatory procedure prescribed under Section 7 of the Act, 1979, the impugned order (Annexure P-1) is per se illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner has referred to Assistant Commissioner of State Tax and others vs. M/s Commercial Steel Limited, 2022(16) SCC 447 and PHR Invent Educational Society vs. UCO Banks and others, 2024 INSC 297.
Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent-college refers to Annexure R-2/2 and submits that in terms of directions issued by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Constitution Bench judgement in T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka 2002(8) SCC 481 has constituted a Tribunal for redressal of the grievances of the employees of the unaided Educational institutes who were subjected to punishment of termination of service and as such, a District and Sessions Judge is designated as an Educational Tribunal in terms of notification dated 07.05.2013 and the petitioner has alternate efficacious remedy under the notification to agitate in terms of the Act, 1979. Learned counsel for the respondent further relies upon the judgement rendered by the Division Bench of this Court in Management of S.D.Model Senior Secondary School vs. District Judge-cum-Service Tribunal, 2014(1) SCT 652 in which the Division Bench of this Court has laid down the ratio that Educational Tribunal has the jurisdiction to decide all incidental service related disputes itself except the issue of payment of gratuity. As such, the petitioners have wrongly availed the remedy of writ petition instead of approaching the Educational Tribunal.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perusing the material available on record, it transpires that Government of Haryana vide notification dated 07.05.2013 (Annexure R-2/2) has constituted an Educational Tribunal in terms of the directions issued by Constitutional Bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court in T.M.A.Pai’s case(supra). Further, Division Bench of this Court has already examined the issue of jurisdiction of the Educational Tribunal regarding service disputes in Management of S.D.Model Senior Secondary School’s case(supra) and observed as under:-
“ In view of the above discussion, we concluded as under:
(i)That an Educational Tribunal constituted in terms of the direction of the Supreme Court in T.M.A.Pai Foundation’s case (supra), will not have the jurisdiction to decide issue of payment of gratuity, as the same is payable to the teaching and non-teaching staff in terms of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
(ii)In respect of second question, the notification of the State Government constituting Educational Tribunal will include all service disputes arising out of an order passed by the Management, as appealable to the Educational Tribunal. Such right to appeal is not arising in view of the judgement in T.M.A.Pai Foundation’s case (supra), but in exercise of the executive powers of the State.
(iii)The State Government shall consider appropriate amendments in the Haryana School Education Act, 1995 in the light of statement made by Mr. Poonia before this Court expeditiously.
(iv)Since the controversy regarding the Forum for adjudication of disputes relating to payment of gratuity has been settled now, it shall be open to the aggrieved persons to seek redressal under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 in accordance with law, if the same is availed within two months from today. The payment deposited by the petitioners shall be subject to the decision of the Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act.”
In view of the admitted facts and judgement rendered by Hon’ble Supreme Court in T.M.A.Pai’s case (supra) and the Division Bench of this Court in Management of S.D.Model Senior Secondary School’s case(supra), present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the Educational Tribunal to treat the writ petition as a petition and decide the same on merits in accordance with law. It is further directed that the interim order passed by this Court regarding the status quo on 17.02.2025 in CWP-4354-2025, 04.03.2025 in CWP-5950-2025 and 04.04.2025 in CWP-9538-2025 respectively shall enure for a period of three months and the Tribunal will decide the issue of interim orders in accordance with law. The interim order will be applicable in all the cases irrespective of the fact that interim orders are not passed by this Court in some of the petitions.
Parties are directed to appear before the Educational Tribunal on 24.08.2026 and Registrar General of this Court is directed to forward the paper book of the writ petitions to the concerned Educational Tribunal in the District Charkhi Dadri.
Pending application(s), if any, shall also stands disposed of.
A photocopy of this order be placed on the file of connected matter.