ST. Mary’s Education Society & Anr. Vs Rajendra Prasad Bhargava & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal filed by a private unaided minority educational institution and its disciplinary committee against the judgment dated 15.12.2021 of the Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had held that a writ petition filed by an employee challenging his termination from service was maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution and had remitted the matter to the Single Judge for consideration on merits.
The respondent was employed as an office employee of the appellant institution. A show cause notice-cum-suspension order dated 08.09.2014 and a chargesheet dated 08.12.2014 alleging six instances of misconduct were issued. Following a departmental enquiry, his services were terminated by order dated 08.05.2015. His departmental appeal under Rule 49 of the CBSE Affiliation Byelaws was dismissed by the Disciplinary Committee on 23.09.2016.
The respondent thereafter filed a writ petition under Article 226 seeking to set aside the termination order and the appellate order of the Disciplinary Committee. Although the Union of India, CBSE, the Society, the Disciplinary Committee and the Enquiry Officer were arrayed as respondents, the substantive reliefs were directed against the termination order and the appellate order passed by the private institution.
