LexTHE STATE OF BOMBAY versus BOMBAY EDUCATION SOCIETY AND OTHERS.
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1954 ~atya Div Bushahri v. PadamDev .and Others. Jl enkatarama AJ)'ar J. 1954 May 26. .568 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1955] Act. To hold that Government servants are, as such and as a class, disqualified to act as polling agents would be to engraft an exception to the statute, which is not there. Accordingly, we reaffirm the view taken by us that the appointment of a Government servant as poll~ng agent does not, without more, contravene sect10n 123(8). It is scarcely necessary to repeat our observa- tion in the original judgment that "if it is made out that the candidate or his agent had abused the right to appoint a Government servant as polling · agent by exploiting the situation for furthering his election prospects, then the. matter can be dealt with as an infringement of ·section 123(8)." In the result, this petition is dismissed ; but under the circumstances, without costs. Petition dismissed. THE STATE OF BOMBAY v. BOMBAY EDUCATION SOCIETY AND OTHERS. (With COnnected Appeals) [MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN C.J., S. R. DAs, GHULAM HASAN, BHAGWATI and JAGANNADHADAS JJ.J Constitution of India-Articles 29, 30(1), 337 Second Provisa- Government Circular-Prohibiting admission into Schools main· tained or aided by State on the ground of language of citizens- )-.__ Such circular whether ultra vires of Articles 29(2) and 337 Second ~ Provisa-Article 29(1) and 30(1) of the Constitution-Word "Namely"-Meaning of. The Education Society of Bombay (respondent No. I) has been running a recognised Anglo-Indian School called Barnes High School at Deolali which receives aid from the State of Bombay. J and G are its Directors. English is used in the said school as the medium of instruction. The mother tongue of the Anglo-Indians is English. The State of Bombay issued a circular order on 6th January, 1954, headed "Admission to Schools teaching through the medium of English." The operative portion of the order ·enjoined that no primary or secondary school shall from the date ·Of the order admit t~ a class where English is used as the medium - - ... - - - ·s.c.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 569 _..,f instruction any pupil other than a pupil belonging to a section nf citizens the language of which is English namely, Anglo-Indians and citizens of non-Asiatic descent. One P, a citizen of India and member of Indian Christian Community alleging English to be the mother tongue of his daughter, and one: M, a citizen of India and ,member of Gugrati Hindu Community alleging Gujrati to be the mother tongue of his son, were refused admission to the school for their respective wards on the basis of the aforesaid order dated 6th January, 1954. The Society and its two Directors presented an application under article 226 of the Comtitution in the High Court -<Jf Bombay praying for the issue of a Writ in the nature of Mandamus restraining the State of Bombay and its officers from enforcing the said order and to allow the petitioners to admit In the school any children of non-Anglo-Indian citizens or citizens of the Asiatic descent and to educate them through the medium of English. Similar applications were made by P and hii daughter and by M and his son. All these applications were consolidated, beard together and accepted by the High Court which made an -order as prayed. The State of Bombay came in appeal before the -Supreme Court. Held: (1) that the impugned order denying the ·right of students who are not Anglo-Indians or are of Asiatic 1iescent to be admitted to a recognised Anglo-Indian School (in this -case the Barnes High School) which receives aid from the State and which imparts education through the medium of English is void and unenforceable as it offends against the fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens by article 29(2) of the Constitution, because (a) The language of article 29(2) pf the Constitution is wide -and unqualified and covers all citizens whether they belong to the :majority or minority group. - (b) The protection given by the said article extends against 'the State or anybody who denies the right conferred by it. ( c) The said article confers a special right on citizens for admission into the educational institutions maintained or aided by -the State. (d) The marginal note referring t:o minorities does not control the plain meaning of the language in which article 29(2) has been couched. The word "nam
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