Bharat Mata Saraswati Bal Mandir Senior Secondary School Vs Vinita Singh And Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court considered an appeal against the judgment dated 14.12.2021 whereby a learned Single Judge allowed a writ petition filed by three teachers seeking implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission (7th CPC) recommendations.
The respondents had been working on a regular basis in the appellant school. Pursuant to the recommendations of the 7th CPC, the Directorate of Education (DOE) issued a notification dated 17.10.2017 directing all private recognised schools to implement the revised pay structure. As the appellant school did not extend the benefit of the 7th CPC to the respondents, they filed a writ petition before the High Court. The learned Single Judge directed the school to grant the benefits and salaries in terms of the 7th CPC and further held that the respondents were entitled to arrears with effect from 01.01.2016. The school challenged that judgment in the present appeal.
The appellant school contended that it was an unaided private school and was therefore not amenable to writ jurisdiction. Relying upon Mary’s Education Society and Another v. Rajendra Prasad Bhargava and Others, it argued that although an unaided school may discharge a public duty by imparting education, judicial review under Article 226 is available only where a public law element exists and not for enforcing a contract of personal service. The appellant further submitted that even if the writ petition was maintainable, arrears from 01.01.2016 could not have been granted since the writ petition had been filed only on 31.08.2020, and arrears beyond three years were barred by limitation. Reliance was placed on Union of India and Others v. Tarsem Singh and Rushibhai Jagdishbhai Pathak v. Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation.
