Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

College’s plea against GO dismissed

MADURAI: A Government Order mandating private colleges to designate senior most staff member as Head of the Department does not divest the minorities of their right to administer educational institutions, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ruled.

Justice K. Chandru passed the ruling while dismissing a writ petition filed by St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi, challenging a 1988 GO. The Supreme Court’s decision in favour of minority institutions in N. Ammad Vs. Emjay High School (1998) would be applicable only to appointment of head of the institution, and not of HoD, he said.

The post of HoD was not filled through promotion or fresh appointment; nor did it carry any additional emolument. The HoD merely allotted work to fellow teachers and at times convened departmental meetings for taking academic decisions.

“At the tail end of his service, the college cannot state that he has to work under the headship of a junior member of the very same department. This will not only be humiliating but an insult to the senior staff… Therefore, the attack made by the [college] management, that too when the GO was issued 18 years ago, does no speak well of the college,” the judge said.

The High Court had upheld the validity of the 1998 GO in Madras Christian College Versus Dr. Shams (2001), the judge said. “It is only with a view to warding off complaints by some of the senior members of the college that the management has chosen to file the present writ petition.”

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