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GYAN MANDIR SOCIETY AND ANR. versus ASHOK KUMAR & ORS.

Citation: [2010] 2 S.C.R. 845 · Decided: 16-02-2010 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: J.M. PANCHAL · Disposal: Disposed off

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Judgment (excerpt)

[201 O] 2 S.C.R. 845 
GYAN MANDIR SOCIETY AND ANR. 
v. 
ASHOK KUMAR & ORS. 
(Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 21954 of 2009) 
FEBRUARY 16, 2010 
[J.M. PANCHAL AND T.S. THAKUR, JJ.] 
EDUCA Tl ON/Educational Institutions: 
A 
B 
Taking over/Shifting of School - Society running a c 
school, allotted an alternative school site and asked to vacate 
the existing site - Society starting school at allotted site and 
the existing school taken over by NDMC on "as is where is 
basis" - Writ petition seeking absorption of teachers and 
adjustment of students of existing school on freeship basis 
D 
in the new school of the Society - HELD: The view taken by 
the High Court that the society was obliged to absorb the 
teachers and the students from existing school, does not 
suffer from any error of law or jurisdiction to warrant 
interference in exercise of powers under Article 136 of the 
E 
Constitution -
However, the direction regarding free 
transportation to students from existing school locality to the 
new school does not have any contractual or other legal basis 
and is, therefore, deleted - Constitution of India, 1950 - Article 
136. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICITION : SLP (Civil) No. 
21954 of 2009. 
From the Judgment & Order dated 20.7.2009 of the High 
Court of Delhi at New Delhi in LP.A No. 1307 of 2007. 
Ashok Desai, Rohit Choudhary, B.R. Menon, Preeti 
Khewani, B. Vijayalakshmi Menon for the Petitioners. 
845 
F 
G 
H 
846 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2010) 2 S.C.R. 
A 
Sanjiv Sen, Prashant Kumar, Anuja Chopra for the 
Respondents. 
The Order of the Court was delivered 
ORDER 
B 
T.S. THAKUR, J. 1. In this petition for special leave to 
appeal the petitioners call in question the correctness of an 
order dated 20th July, 2009 passed by a Division Bench of the 
High Court of Delhi whereby LP.A No.1307 of 2007 filed by 
c the petitioners has been dismissed with costs assessed at 
Rs. 75,000/- and directions issued by the learned Single Judge 
of the High Court in W.P.(C) No. 11778of2006 affirmed. 
2. The facts giving rise to the filing of the writ petition and 
D 
the Letters Patent Appeal have been set out in detail by the 
High Court making it unnecessary for us to state them over 
again. Suffice it to say that W.P.(C) 11778 of 2006 was filed 
by the teachers employed with the petitioner society running a 
neighbourhood school at Tis January Lane, New Delhi falling 
within the NDMC area. With the allotment of an area measuring 
E 2.284 acres at Sadiq Nagar in favour of the petitioner - society 
the temporary allotment made in favour of the petitioner's society 
at Tis January Lane came to ari end on 31st of March, 1997. 
The society was accordingly asked to hand over the possession 
of the land but since the school was catering to the needs of 
F about 500 students and several teachers had been employed 
by the society to impart education to the students, practical 
difficulties were encountered in handing over the site. After 
detailed deliberations and prolonged correspondence the 
NDMC offered to take over the school on "as is where is" basis. 
G A letter to that effect was issued by the L&DO on 1st April, 
/' 
2002. The possession of the school was pursuant to that letter 
'. 
handed over to the L&DO on 8th March, 2006, who on the same 
day delivered the possession of the school building to the 
NDMC. 
H 
GYAN MANDIR SOCIETY AND ANR. v. ASHOK 
847 
KUMAR & ORS. [T.S. THAKUR, J.] 
3. In the meantime the society filed Writ Petition (Civil) 
A 
17889-90 of 2005 seeking permission to construct a building 
for a senior secondary school at Sadiq Nagar over the site 
allotted in its favour. The High Court allowed that writ petition 
by its order dated 16th March, 2006. It is note-worthy that in 
the said proceedings the society had maae a categorical 
8 
statement that students studying in the Tis January Lane school 
can be accommodated by the society in the school being run 
by it at Andrews Ganj on freeship basis and if fees are charged, 
the same shall not be in excess of what they were paying in 
the. Tis January Lane school. 
4. W.P.(C) No.11778 of 2006 was at that stage filed by 
the teachers employed by the society for its Tis January Lane 
school in which they prayed for the following reliefs:-
c 
( a) issue a writ in the nature of mandamus to 
D 
respondent No.1 to cancel the allotment of the Sadiq 
Nagar site of school measuring 2.34 acres allotted to 
respondent Nos. 4 & 5 vide dated 27.08.1975; 
(b) issue appro

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