STATE OF KERALA AND OTHERS versus PRESIDENT, PARENT TEACHER ASSN. SNVUP AND OTHERS

Citation: [2013] 4 S.C.R. 66 · Decided: 06-02-2013 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K.S. RADHAKRISHNAN, DIPAK MISRA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
[2013) 4 S.C.R. 66 
STATE OF KERALA AND OTHERS 
v. 
PRESIDENT, PARENT TEACHER ASSN. SNVUP AND 
OTHERS 
(Civil Appeal No. 958 of 2013) 
FEBRUARY 06, 2013 
[K.S. RADHAKRISHNAN AND DIPAK MISRA, JJ.] 
Education - Kera/a Education Rules - Chapter XX/II -
C r.12(3) rlw r. 16 -Irregular fixation of schoolstaff- Staff fixation 
order obtained through bogus admission of students and 
misrepresentation of facts - Verification of actual students' 
strength - By Police - Justification - Whether High Court 
justified in directing the Secretary, General Education 
D Department of the State to get the verification of the actual 
students' strength in all the aided schools in the State with the 
assistance of the police and to take appropriate action - Held: 
Due to irregular fixation of staff, the State exchequer incurs 
heavy financial burden by way of pay and allowances - Great 
E responsibility, therefore, cast on the General Education 
Department to curb such menace which not only burden the 
State exchequer but also give a wrong signal to the society 
at large - However, investigation by the police with regard to 
verification of the school admission, register etc., particularly 
F with regard to admissions of the students in the aided schools 
will give a wrong signal even to the students studying in the 
school and the presence of the police itself is not conducive 
to the academic atmosphere of the schools -
In such 
circumstances, directions given by the High Court for police 
G intervention for verification of the students' strength in all the 
aided schools set aside - However, direction given to the 
State Education Department to forthwith give effect to a 
circular dated 12.10.2011 to issue UID Card to all the school 
children and follow the guidelines and directions contained 
in their circular - No reason to interfere with the direction 
H 
66 
STATE OF KERALA v. PRESIDENT, PARENT TEACHER 
67 
ASSN. SNVUP 
given by the Director of Public Instructions (DP/) to take further A 
action to fix the liabilities for the irregularity committed in the 
school, for which appeal pending before the State 
Government - State Government to consider the appeal and 
take appropriate decision, if it is still pending. 
Dispute arose as to whether staff fixation of the B 
school concerned for the year 2008-09 was obtained 
through 
bogus 
admissions 
of students 
and 
misrepresentation of facts. Physical verification by the 
Super Check Cell 
reveal~d wrong recording of 
attendance. Consequently, t~e Director of Public C 
Instructions (DPI) passed order revising the staff fixation 
of the. school for the year 2008-09 as per Rule 12(3) read 
with Rule 16 of_ Chapter XXJll of the Kerala Education 
Rules. 
D 
By the im·pugned order, the High Court held that 
manipulation by the school management was obvious, 
though not to the extent found by the Super Check Cell 
based on which the Df'.>I had passed its order. The High 
Court further held that since the Education Department 
E 
lacked the investigating skill or the authority to collect 
information from the field, it would be appropriate that the 
verification of actual students in all the aided schools in 
the State be done through the police. Holding so, the 
High Court directed the Secretary, Department of F 
Education, to get verification of the actual students 
studying in all the aided schools in the State done 
through the police authorities and take appropriate. 
action. 
In the instant appeal filed by the State of Kerala, the 
G 
question which arose for consideration was whether the 
High Court was justified in directing the Secretary, 
General Education Department of the State to get the 
verification of the actual students' strength in all the aided H' 
68 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2013] 4 S C.R. 
A schools in the State with the assistance of the police and 
to take appropriate action. 
Allowing the·appeal, the Court 
HELD: 1. The State itself had admitted in the petition 
B that there should be a better mechanism to ascertain the 
number of students in the aided schools which could be 
done by finger printing or any other modern system so 
that the students could be properly identified and staff 
fixation could be done on the basis of relevant data. An 
C additional affidavit has been filed by the State of Kerala 
stating that the Government after ·much thought and 
deliberations formulated a scientific method to resolve 
the issue emanating from staff fixation orders ev
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