St Kabir School, Chandigarh, not a minority institution: High Court
Chandigarh, July 8
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that St Kabir Public School is not a minority institution. The Bench also made it clear that the impugned order dated September 10, 2014, passed by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institution (NCMEI) holding and declaring the school a minority educational institution was not in accordance with law and deserved to be set aside.
The ruling by the Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Sandeep Moudgil came on an appeal filed against the NCMEI and other respondents by the Director, School Education, UT, through senior standing counsel Anil Mehta with additional standing counsel Sumeet Jain.
The Bench was told that a writ petition was filed by the UT challenging the NCMEI order dated September 10, 2014, and another order dated March 14, 2017, vide which the school’s complaint against the show-cause notice issued by the Chandigarh Administration was accepted and the UT was restrained from imposing reservation for EWS students on the institute. The Bench was further told that the petition was dismissed vide order dated March 20, 2020, by a Single Judge, who upheld the impugned orders.
After hearing Mehta and the rival contentions, the Bench asserted that the Supreme Court had emphasised that existence of some real positive index was important and imperative to enable an institution to be identified as an educational institution of the minorities. It should be apparent from the memorandum or article of association, or in the actions of the society, to indicate that the institution was intended to be a minority educational institution.
The society running the school was established purely as a “secular society” with no semblance or relation to any minority community/linguistic minority much less Sikh minority community. It is at a subsequent stage on December 24, 1994, that Punjabi language, Punjabi culture, history of prophets and Gurus were introduced, apart from mentioning that it was an organisation of minority. This amendment came into effect after the allotment of the plot on October 13, 1988, the school’s construction and it becoming functional from the academic session 1991-92.
“Therefore, it is not only at the time of establishment of the society, but even at the time of inception of the institution-school, there was no connection whatsoever with the claim of minority in any form either regarding establishment by, and, or, as a minority nor for the benefit of the minority (Sikhs),” the Bench added.
