Government-aided minority institutions have absolute right to appoint employees, says Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court (HC) has ruled that government-aided minority educational institutions have absolute autonomy to appoint their employees.  Referring to various judgments on the issue, the court pointed out that the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, was intended to give aided minority institutions greater freedom rather than interfere with their minority status.

Justice C. Hari Shankar observed that Rule 98(2) of the DSE rules provides that every appointment by a managing committee of an aided school would require the approval of the Directorate of Education (DoE) director. However, minority institutions are exempt from the applicability of this rule.

HC stated that “the laws made by the state to regulate the administration of aided educational institutions, if they interfered with the overall administrative control by the management over the staff or abridged or diluted the right to establish and administer educational institutions, would not be applicable to minorities.”

Referring to various Supreme Court (SC) judgments on the issue, Justice Shankar thereafter held, “The petitioner, as an aided minority institution, has an absolute right to appoint the persons whom the petitioner chooses, as principal, teachers, and other staff, in the educational institutions run by it. No prior permission or approval from the DoE is required. The extent of regulation by the DoE is limited to prescribing the qualifications and experience of the principals and teachers.”

“A linguistic minority is entitled to conserve its language and culture by virtue of Article 29(1) of the Constitution. It is entitled, therefore, to select people who satisfy the prescribed criteria, qualifications, and eligibility and ensure better cultural and linguistic compatibility with the minority institution,” the court said.

Earlier, the Delhi Tamil Education Association (DTEA) filed a lawsuit in the High Court seeking a declaration that it is not necessary to obtain DoE approval to appoint new principals and teachers to the school. DETA runs seven aided linguistic minority schools in Delhi.

Justice C. Hari Shankar said, “The SC has clearly held in various judgments that the constitution of managing committees (of schools) is also part of the “right to establish and administer minority educational institutions,” which is guaranteed by Article 30(1) of the Constitution.”

He added, “The grant of aid by the state to the minority institution makes no substantial difference to this legal position. At its highest, the state can regulate the proper utilization of the aid it grants. It cannot subjugate the minority educational institution to its dictates in the matter of the appointment of teachers or principals on the pretext that it has granted aid to the institution.”

HC stated that the DSE (Delhi School Education) Rules would be followed in the establishment of the selection committee.

Abolishing the order that had rejected the petitioner association's request to fill 52 open positions, the court stated, “It is accordingly held that the petitioner is entitled to make appointments against the vacant posts of principals and teachers in the schools run by it without prior approval of the DoE.”