Rights of minority institutions are protected under various specialized legislations : Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has said that once any minority educational institution decides qualified person from the “minority community” to lead the institution, the court cannot go into the merits of the choice or the rationality of decision.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said the rights of minority institutions are protected under various specialized legislations ,as the rights of these institutions are invested with sanctity and a position higher than that of the ordinary law.

The court said that every legal provision or executive action must conform to the mandates implied for the welfare of the community and added that :

“In that regard, the right under Article 30(1) is absolute.

The judge added that s everyinguistic minority may have its own social, economic and cultural limitations and a constitutional right to conserve such culture and language.

It said that management has the right to choose teachers, who possess the eligibility and qualifications as provided, without really being influenced by the fact of their religion and community.

The judgement added “Linguistic and cultural compatibility can be legitimately claimed as one of the desirable features of a linguistic minority in relation to selection of eligible and qualified teachers.’

The Court said this while dismissing a plea challenging the decision of a Delhi based Nutan Marathi Senior Secondary School to appoint one Shubhada Bapat as its vice-principal.

The Petitioner, Birpal Singh, said that the post of vice-principal fell vacant in 2009. Though a person was appointed to the post, the appointment was set aside by the High Court. Subsequently, Bapat was appointed to the post despite her being junior to him.

The school, said that it is a Marathi institution and since the Marathi speaking community is a linguistic minority in Delhi, it is entitled to appoint its own teachers.

Mr Singh however said thatthe school cannot be classified a minority institution as it is not been notified as one by the National Commissions for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI).

As per a circular issued by Directorate of Education of the Delhi Government, the school has been recognised as a ‘linguistic minority institution’.

The judge Justice Singh ordered that the decision of appointment of a teacher is right as the school of linguistic minority is entitled to conserve its language and culture by constitutional mandate.