Court dismisses plea challenging appointment of woman from minority language community as assistant director
Court dismisses plea challenging appointment of woman from minority language community as assistant director
The Delhi High Court has ruled that once the management of a minority educational institution consciously chooses a qualified person from the “minority community” to lead the institution, either as deputy principal or director, the court cannot enter into the merit of the choice.
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said, “A linguistic minority has the right to retain its language and culture by constitutional mandate.”
The High Court observation came during the dismissal of a petition challenging the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) Minutes dated December 19, 2013, appointing Shubhada Bapat as Deputy Principal of Nutan Marathi Secondary School , a government-subsidized school.
The claimant, Birpal Singh, a mathematics teacher at the school, argued that Ms Bapat’s name was recommended by the school for the post of deputy headmaster despite the fact that she was its junior.
Discriminatory action
Mr Singh argued that the school had taken into account that it was a ‘minority language institution’, Ms Bapat would be a better choice as she also belongs to the same ‘minority language community’. Mr Singh has argued vehemently that the school’s actions are discriminatory and biased against him. He also challenged the school’s minority status.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) of the Delhi government has argued that the school is recognized as a minority language assisted school receiving 95% grant from the Delhi government under the provisions of the law and rules on Delhi School Education (DSEAR), 1973.
The court noted that the school is listed as a “language minority institution” in the DoE’s list of recognized institutions. She rejected Mr Singh’s arguments that for an institution to be declared a “minority” institution, it must be notified as such by the central government in the Official Gazette.
“Article 30 of the Constitution of India upholds the right of minority communities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. It guarantees minority rights which must be preserved,” Judge Singh observed.
Constitutional right
“Each linguistic minority may have its own social, economic and cultural limitations. He has the constitutional right to retain that culture and that language,” Justice Singh said.
“So he would also have the right to choose teachers, who have the eligibility and qualifications, as expected, without really being influenced by the fact of their religion and community and the same can be done by the defined process by the school administration,” added the judge.
“Linguistic and cultural compatibility can be legitimately claimed as one of the desirable characteristics of a linguistic minority in relation to the selection of eligible and qualified teachers,” the High Court said, noting that the selection of the deputy headmaster made by the school is not contrary. to established law.
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