No 1232 of 1986
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India
CS Vaidayanathan and SR Sethia for the Petitioner
A Subba Rao for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 977 SEN J
The short point involved in this petition under article 32 of the Constitution is whether linguistic minority educational institutions like the Andhra Education Society are governed by sub section
4 of section 8 of the Delhi School Education Act 1973
The petitioner Smt
Y Theclamma Vice Principal Andhra Education Society Secondary School Prasad Nagar New Delhi challenges the legality of an order passed by the managing committee of the Andhra Education Society New Delhi dated April 23 1986 placing her under suspension pending a departmental inquiry against her
The facts lie within a narrow compass
The Andhra Educa tion Society is a society formed under the Societies Regis tration Act 1860 with a view to imparting education to the children belonging to the Andhra community and others in Delhi
It runs as many as four schools a senior secondary school at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg a secondary school at Prasad Nagar a middle school at Janak Puri and another at East of Kailash
The first three of these are recognised by the Director of Education Delhi Administration and are aided by the Government to the extent of 95
The petitioner is thus employed in a government aided school
By the im pugned order dated April 23
1986 the management instituted a departmental inquiry against the petitioner on certain charges and placed her under suspension in exercise of r 115 of the Delhi School Education Rules 1973 pending the inquiry
A copy of the impugned order of suspension was forwarded on the same day to the Director of Education
On the next day ie on April 24 1986 the management ad dressed a letter to Deputy Director of Education District West New Delhi formally intimating that the petitioner had been placed under suspension pending inquiry on a charge of misconduct as specified for the reasons mentioned in the statements of charges and of allegations forwarded
On that day the petitioner brought a suit for perpetual injunction against the management being Civil Suit No 21386 in the Court of the Subordinate Judge First Class Delhi
She also made an application for grant of temporary injunction under Order XXXIX r 1 of the Civil Procedure Code 1908 for restraining the managing committee from proceeding with the departmental inquiry
The temporary injunction was sought on the ground that the managing committee was not duly consti tuted and besides the impugned order of suspension was violative of sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act
On the same day
the learned Subordinate Judge passed an order for maintain ing the status quo
However the management entered appear ance and applied for vacating the injunction on the ground that the petitioner had already been suspended on April 23 1986
It also pleaded that the school was being established and 978 administered by the Andhra Education Society which being a linguistic minority educational institution was protected under article 301 of the Constitution and therefore the provisions of the Act and in particular of sub section
4 of section 8 were not applicable
The learned Subordinate Judge by his order dated August 20 1986 following the decision of the Delhi High Court in SS Jain Sabha of Rawalpindi Delhi vs Union of India  Ors ILR 1976 2 Del 61 held that the Andhra Education Society was protected under article 301 and was therefore not governed by sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act and accordingly dismissed the application for grant of temporary injunction
Instead of moving the High Court the petitioner straightaway filed a Special Leave Petition under article 136 of the Constitution in this Court which was obvi ously not maintainable
On September 10 1986 learned coun sel for the petitioner finding that it was difficult to support the petition for grant of special leave sought an adjournment to take further instructions and the matter was accordingly adjourned to September 22 1986
In the mean while the petitioner moved this petition under article 32 of the Constitution and thereafter withdrew the suit
On the adjourned date the learned counsel also withdrew the Spe cial Leave Petition
The Special Leave Petition was accord ingly dismissed as withdrawn
Ordinarily the Court would have directed the petitioner to avail of her alternative remedy under article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court but we were constrained to issue notice inasmuch as the High Court had in the year 1979 by its judgment in Andhra Education Society vs Union of India  Anr followed its earlier decision in SS Jain Sabha s case supra and allowed a batch of Writ Petitions filed by the Andhra Education Society and other linguistic minority educational institutions holding that in view of the protection of article 301 these linguistic minority educational institutions were not governed by sections 3 5 sub section
4 of section 8 sections 16 and 25 of the Act and the rele vant rules framed thereunder and therefore no prior approval of the Director of Education was necessary before passing an order of suspension against a teacher pending a departmental inquiry
We were also constrained to entertain the petition because a similar question was raised by the Frank Anthony Public School Employees  Association by a petition under article 32 of the Constitution
Since then the Court has in Frank Anthony Public School Employees  Association vs Union of India  Ors  struck down section 12 of the Act as being violative of article 14 of the Constitution inso laf as it excludes the teachers and other employees of unaided minority schools from the beneficial provisions of sections 8 to 11 except section 8 2ie
except to the 979 extent that it makes section 82 inapplicable to unaided minori ty educational institutions
The Court following the long line of decisions starting from In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 1959 SCR 995 down to All Saints High School vs Government of Andhra Pradesh  held
that the provisions con tained in Chapter IV of the Act except section 82 were regu latory measures and did not offend against article 301 of the Constitution enacted with the purpose of ensuring proper conditions of service of the teachers and other employees of unaided minority educational institutions and for securing a fair procedure in the matter of disciplinary action as against them
These provisions according to the Court were permissible restrictions and were intended and meant to prevent maladministration
The view proceeds upon the basis that the right to administer cannot obviously include the right to maladminister
A regulation which is designed to prevent maladministration of an educational institution cannot be said to infringe article 301
The Court accordingly granted a declaration to the effect that section 12 of the Act was void and unconstitutional except to the extent that it makes section 82 inapplicable to unaided minority educational institutions and directed the Union of India Delhi Admin istration and its officers to enforce the provisions of Chapter IV except section 82 against the Frank Anthony Public School an unaided minority school
It has further directed the management of the school not to give effect to the impugned orders of suspension passed against the members of the staff
Such being the law declared by the Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case with regard to unaided minority educational institutions it stands to reason that the aided minority schools run by the Andhra Education Society and other linguistic minority educational institutions in Delhi will also be governed by the provisions of Chapter IV except section 82 that is to say the exercise of the power of the management of such schools to suspend a teacher would necessarily be subject to the requirement of prior approval of the Director of Education under sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act
In support of the petition Sri Vaidyanathan learned counsel for the petitioner naturally contends that the matter is concluded by the recent decision of this Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case and according to the view expressed by the Court in that case the impugned order of suspension passed by the management being without the prior approval of the Director as required by sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act was vitiated
On the other hand Sri Subba Rao learned counsel appearing for respondents Nos 3 4 and 5 submits that the 980 view expressed by this Court in the recent decision in Frank Anthony Public School s case based upon the earlier decision in All Saints High School s case runs counter to the deci sion of the Constitution Bench in Lilly Kurian vs Sr
Lewina  Ors  and therefore requires reconsidera tion
Alternatively he contends that the Court failed to appreciate that sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act requiring the prior approval of the Director for the suspension of a teacher was a flagrant encroachment upon the right of the minorities under article 301 of the Constitution to adminis ter educational institutions established by them
It is argued that if no prior approval of the Director is needed under section 82 for the dismissal removal or reduction in rank of a teacher as held by this Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case there is no reason why the exercise of power of suspension being an integral part of the power to take disciplinary action could not be made subject to any such restriction as imposed by sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act
In order to appreciate the rival contentions it is necessary to set out the relevant provisions
Sub section
2 of section 8 interdicts that subject to any rule that may be made no employee of a recognised private school shall be dis missed removed or reduced in rank nor shall his service be otherwise terminated except with the prior approval of the Director
section 83 confers upon such an employee the right of an appeal to the Tribunal constituted under section 11 against his dismissal removal or reduction in rank
Sub section
4 relates to the power of suspension and it is in these terms 4
Where the managing committee of a recog nised private school intends to suspend any of its employees such intention shall be commu nicated to the Director and no such suspension shall be made except with the prior approval of the Director Provided that the managing committee may suspend an employee with immediate effect and without the prior approval of the Director if it is satisfied that such immediate suspen sion is necessary by reason of the gross misconduct within the meaning of the Code of Conduct prescribed under section 9 of the employee Provided further that no such immedi ate suspension shall remain in force for more than a period of fifteen days from the date of suspension unless it has been communi 981 cated to the Director and approved by him before the expiry of the said period
 Sub s5 of section 8 provides that where intention to suspend or the immediate suspension of an employee is communicated to the Director he may if he is satisfied that there are adequate and reasonable grounds for such suspension accord his approval to such suspension
In Frank Anthony Public School s case Chinnappa Reddy J speaking for himself and GL Oza J while repelling the contention that sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act was an en croachment upon the fundamental right of the minorities enshrined in article 301 to administer the educational insti tutions established by them inasmuch as it conferred a blanket power on the Director to grant or withhold his prior approval where the management intended to place an employee under suspension pending a departmental inquiry observed that the question was directly covered by the majority decision in All Saints High School s case and that in his view the provision was eminently reasonable and just de signed to afford some measure of protection to the employ ees without interfering with the management s right to take disciplinary action
He then stated Section 84 would be inapplicable to minori ty institutions if it had conferred blanket power on the Director to grant or withhold prior approval in every case where a manage ment proposed to suspend an employee but we see that it is not so
The management has the right to order immediate suspension of an employee in case of gross misconduct but in order to prevent an abuse of power by the management a safeguard is provided to the employee that approval should be obtained within 15 days
The Director is also bound to accord his approval if there are adequate and reasonable grounds for such suspension
The provision appears to be eminently reasonable and sound and the answer to the question in regard to this provision is directly covered by the decision in All Saints High School where Chandrachud CJ
and Kailasam J upheld Section 33a of the Act impugned therein
 Emphasis supplied It is not necessary to go through all the cases relied upon by the 982 Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case for the view taken that the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act were of a regulatory nature and therefore did not have the effect of abridging the fundamental right guaranteed to the minorities under article 301
It is enough to say that although there is no reference in the judgment to Lilly Kurian s case the observations made by the Court with regard to the applica bility of sub s4 of section 8 of the Act which relates to the exercise of the power of suspension by the management fall in line with the view expressed by the majority in All Saints High School s case where such power was held to be on consideration of all the decisions starting from In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 permissible restriction being regulatory in character
Presumably the Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case felt that it was not necessary to refer to Lilly Kurian s case as the extent of the regula tory power of the State had been dealt with by the Court In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 and reaffirmed in the subsequent decisions including that in All Saints High School s case
In Lilly Kurian s case one of us Sen J speaking for a Constitution Bench had occasion to observe lm Protection of the minorities is an article of faith in the Constitution of India
The right to the administration of institutions of minority s choice enshrined in Article 301 means management of the affairs  of the institution
This right is however subject to the regulatory power of the State
Article 301 is not a charter for mal administra tion however regulation so that the right to administer may be better exercised for the benefit of the institution is permissible Emphasis supplied In that case the question was whether the conferment of a right of appeal to an external authority like the Vice Chancellor of the University under Ordinance 334 framed by the Syndicate of the University of Kerala under section 19j of the Kerala University Act 1957 against any order passed by the management of a minority educational institution in respect of penalties including that of suspension was an abridgement of the right of administration conferred on the minorities under article 301
The question was answered in the affirmative and it was held that the conferral of the power of appeal to the ViceChancellor under Ordinance 334 was not only a grave encroachment on such institution s right to enforce and ensure discipline in its administrative affairs but it was uncanalised and unguided in the sense that no restrictions were placed on the exercise of the power
It was further said that in the absence of any guide lines it could not be held 983 that the power entrusted to the Vice Chancellor under Ordi nance 334 was merely a check on maladministration
In Frank Anthony Public School s case the Court held that subss
1 3 and 4 of section 8 and sections 9 10 and 11 of the Act do not encroach upon the right of administration conferred on the minorities under article 301 to administer educational institutions of their choice but that section 82 in view of the authorities referred to must be held to interfere with such right and therefore inapplicable to minority institutions
It would therefore appear that the decision in Frank Anthony Public School s case proceeds upon the view that the right guaranteed to religious and linguis tic minorities by article 301 which is two fold ie to establish and to administer educational institutions of their choice is subject to the regulatory power of the State
The Court has referred to the three decisions in Ahmedabad St Xavier s College Society vs State of Gujarat   State of Kerala vs Very Rev Mother Pro vincial  and All Saints High School vs Govt
of AP supra in coming to the conclusion that section 12 of the Act insofar as it made inapplicable the beneficent provisions of Chapter IV to unaided minority institution was discriminatory and offended against article 14 ie except to the extent that it made section 82 inapplicable to such insti tutions
The view taken in Frank Anthony Public School s case is in consonance with the decision of the majority in All Saints High School s case
In that case the applicabil ity of several sections of the AP Recognised Private Educational Institutions Control Act 1975 was questioned as being violative of article 301
Chandrachud CJ
while delivering the majority judgment held after referring to all the earlier decisions that it must be regarded as wellset tled especially after the 9 Judge Bench decision in St Xavier s case and the subsequent decision in Lilly Kurian that the State was competent to enact regulatory measures for the purpose of ensuring educational standards and main taining the excellence thereof and such regulations which were permissible did not impinge upon the minorities  funda mental right to administer educational institutions of their choice under article 301
The reason for this conclusion can best be stated in the words of Chandrachud CJ These decisions show that while the right of the religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institu tions of their choice cannot be interfered with restrictions by way of regulations for the purpose of ensuring educational standards and maintaining the excellence thereof can be validly prescribed
For maintaining educa 984 tional standards of an institution it is necessary to ensure
that it is competently staffed
Conditions of service which prescribe minimum qualifications for the staff their pay scales their entitlement to other bene fits of service and the laying down of safe guards which must be observed before they are removed or dismissed from service or their services are terminated are all permissible measures of a regulatory character Chandrachud CJ
and Fazal Ali J held that sections 31 and 32 which made the prior approval of the competent authori ty a prerequisite for the dismissal removal or reduction in rank of a teacher conferred on the competent authority an appellate power of great magnitude and therefore sections 31 and 32 read together were in their opinion unconstitu tional insofar as they were made applicable to minority institutions inasmuch as they were found to interfere sub stantially with their right to administer institutions of their choice
In coming to that conclusion the learned Chief Justice relied upon the decisions in State of Kerala vs Very Rev Mother Provincial   DAV College vs State of Punjab and Lilly Kurian and accordingly agreed with Fazal Ali J that sections 31 and 32 of the impugned Act could not be applied to minority institutions since to do so would offend against article 301
We may extract the relevant portion of the judgment Any doubt as to the width of the area in which Section 31 operates and is intended to operate is removed bythe provision contained in Section 32 by virtue of which the compe tent authority shall approve the proposal if it is satisfied that there are adequate and reasonable grounds for the proposal
This provision under the guise of conferring the power of approval confers upon the competent authority an appellate power of great magni tude
The competent authority is made by that provision the sole judge of the propriety of the proposed order since it is for that au thority to see whether there are reasonable grounds for the proposal
The authority is indeed made a judge both of facts and law by the conferment upon it of a power to test the validity of the proposal on the vastly subjec tive touchstone of adequacy and reasonable ness
Section 32 in my opinion leaves no scope for reading down the provisions of Section 31
The two sub sections together confer upon the competent authority in the absence of proper rules a 985 wide and untrammelled discretion to interfere with the proposed order whenever in its opinion the order is based on grounds which do not appear to it either adequate or reason able The form in which Section 32 is couched is apt to mislead by creating an impression that its real object is to cast an obligation on the competent authority to approve a proposal under certain conditions
Though the section provides that the competent authority shall approve the proposed order if it is satisfied that it is based on adequate and reasonable grounds its plain and necessary implication is that it shall not approve the proposal unless it is so satisfied
The conferment of such a power on an outside authority the exercise of which is made to depend on purely subjective considerations arising out of the twin formula of adequacy and reasonableness cannot but constitute an infringement of the right guaranteed by Article 301
 It is also necessary to mention that all the three Judges Chandrachud CJ
Fazal Ali  Kailasam JJ agreed that section 4 of the Act which provided for an appeal and section 5 which was consequential to section 4 were invalid as violative of article 301
However there was a difference of opinion as to the applicability of sections 33a 33b 6 and 7
We need only notice sections 33a and 33b which pertained to the power of suspension
section 33a provided that no teacher employed in any private educational institution shall be placed under suspension except when an inquiry into the gross misconduct of such teacher is contemplated
section 33b provided that no such suspension shall remain in force for more than a period of two months and if the inquiry was not completed within that period the teacher shall be deemed to be reinstated
Proviso thereto however conferred power on the competent authority for reasons to be recorded in writing to extend the period for a further period not exceeding two months
Chandrachud CJ
found it difficult to agree with Fazal Ali J that these provisions were violative of article 301 thereby agreeing with Kailasam J that they were indeed regulatory
section 33a in his own words contained but an elementary guarantee of freedom from arbitrariness to the teachers
The provision was regulatory in character since it neither denied to the management the right to proceed against an erring teacher nor indeed did it place an unrea son 986 able restraint on its power to do so
It assumed the right of the management to suspend a teacher but regulated that right by directing that a teacher should not be suspended for more than a period of two months unless the inquiry was in respect of a charge of gross misconduct
In dealing with section 33a the learned Chief Justice observed Fortunately suspension of teachers is not the order of the day for which reason I do not think that these restraints which bear a reasonable nexus with the attainment of educa tional excellence can be considered to be violative of the right given by article 301 He then stated The limitation of the period of suspension initially to two months which can in appro priate cases be extended by another two months partakes of the same character as the provision contained in section 33a
In the generality of cases a domestic inquiry against a teacher ought to be completed within a period of two months or say within another two months
A provision founded so patently on plain reason is difficult to construe as an invasion of the fight to administer an insti tution unless that right carried with it the right to maladminister He accordingly agreed with Kailasam J that sections 33a and 33b which put restraints on the arbitrary power of suspension of teachers were regulatory in character and did not offend against the fundamental right of minorities under article 301
It would be seen that the decision of the Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case with regard to the applicabili ty of sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act to the unaided minority educational institutions is based on the view taken by the majority in All Saints High School s case which on its turn was based on several decisions right from In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 down to St Xavier including that in Lilly Kurian
It is therefore difficult to sustain the argument of learned counsel for the respondents that the decision in Frank Anthony Public School s case holding that sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act was applicable to such insti tutions was in conflict with the decision of the Constitu tion Bench in Lilly Kurian s case and therefore required reconsideration
The contention of learned counsel for the respondents that sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act requiting the prior approval of the Director for the suspen 987 sion of a teacher was a flagrant encroachment upon the right of the minorities under article 301 of the Constitution to administer educational institutions established by them is answered in all the earlier decisions of this Court right from In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 down to that in All Saints High School s case which have been referred to by the Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case
These decisions unequivocally lay down that while the right of the minorities religious or linguistic to establish and admin ister educational institutions of their choice cannot be interfered with restrictions by way of regulations for the purpose of ensuring educational standards and maintaining excellence thereof can validly be prescribed
It cannot be doubted that although disciplinary control over the teachers of a minority educational institution is with the management regulations can be made for ensuring proper conditions of service for the teachers and also for ensuring a fair procedure in the matter of disciplinary action
As the Court laid down in Frank Anthony Public School s case the provision contained in sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act is designed to afford some measure of protection to the teachers of such institutions without interfering with the managements  right to take disciplinary action
Although the Court in that case had no occasion to deal with the different ramifications arising out of sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act it struck a note of caution that in a case where the management charged the employee with gross miscon duct the Director is bound to accord his approval to the suspension
It would be seen that the endeavour of the Court in all the cases has been to strike a balance between the constitutional obligation to protect what is secured to the minorities under article 301 with the social necessity to protect the members of the staff against arbitrariness and victimisation
One should have thought that in a case like the present where the management charged the petitioner with diversion of funds and communicated the impugned order of suspension pending departmental inquiry to the Director there would be some response from him
The management did not formally apply for his prior approval in terms of sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act in view of the declaration by the High Court that it being a linguistic minority educational institution it was protected under article 301 and no prior approval of the Director was required
Nevertheless it took the precaution of communicating the impugned order of suspension to the Director
Presumably the Director refrained from passing any order according or refusing approval having regard to the judgment of the High Court
In view of the recent deci sion in Frank Anthony Public School s case it must be 988 held that the institution was governed by sub s 4 of section 8 of the Act and therefore there was a duty cast on the Direc tor to come to a decision whether such immediate suspension was necessary by reason of the gross misconduct of the petitioner as required by subs 5 of s8
We refrain from expressing any opinion as to the seriousness otherwise of the charge as that is a matter to be enquired into by de partmental proceeding
The fact however remains that there was no response from the Director within the period of 15 days as envisaged by the second proviso to section 84
As a result of this the impugned order of suspension has lapsed and it is so declared
Although the impugned order of sus pension has lapsed the management may yet move the Director for his prior approval under sub s 4 of section 8 of the Delhi School Education Act 1973 and the Director shall deal with such application if made in accordance with the principles laid down in Frank Anthony Public School s case Subject to this observation the writ petition fails and is dismissed
There shall be no order as to costs PSS Petition dismissed


Summary:
Sub section 4 of section 8 of the Delhi School Education Act 1973 interdicts the management of a recognised private school from suspending any of its employees except with the prior approval of the Director of Education
However in cases of gross misconduct the first proviso to that sub section provides for suspension of the employee with immedi ate effect while the second proviso limits the period of such suspension to fifteen days unless it has been communi cated to the Director and approved of by him before the expiry of the said period
The petitioner a teacher in a recognised private school run by a linguistic minority educational society was placed under suspension by the management by its order dated April 23 1986 on charges of diversion of funds pending depart mental inquiry and the fact intimated to the Director of Education without formally seeking his approval under section 84 of the Act
She filed a suit assailing the order as violative of section 84 of the Act and also an application for the grant of a temporary injunction which was dismissed by the trial court following the decision of the High Court in SS Jain Sabha vs Union of India ILR 1976 2 Del 61 taking the view that the educational institution having been established and administered by a linguistic minority it was protected under article 301 of the Constitution and therefore the provisions of the Act and in particular section 84 were not applicable
Her special leave petition having been dismissed as withdrawn by this Court she filed the present writ petition in this Court and thereafter withdrew the suit
975 Relying upon the decision in Frank Anthony Public School Employees Association vs Union of India  it was contended for the petitioner that the impugned order of suspension being without prior approval of the Director as required under section 84 of the Act was vitiated
For the respondents it was contended that the decision of the Court in Frank Anthony Public School s case being contrary to the decision of the Constitution Bench in Lilly Kurian vs Sr
Lewina  Ors  required reconsideration and that section 84 of the Act was violative of Article 301
Disposing of the writ petition the Court HELD 1
The exercise of the power of management of the aided schools run by the linguistic minority educational institutions in Delhi to suspend a teacher is subject tO the requirement of prior approval of the Director of Education under sub section
4 of section 8 of the Delhi School Education Act 1973
979EF 21 While the right of the minorities religious or linguistic to establish and administer educational institu tions of their choice cannot be interfered with restric tions by way of regulations for the purpose of ensuring educational standards and maintaining excellence thereof can validly be prescribed
987B 22 Sub section 4 of section 8 of the Act requiring the prior approval of the Director of Education for the suspen sion of a teacher was regulatory in character and did not therefore offend against the fundamental right of the minorities under article 301 of the Constitution to adminis ter educational institutions established by them
986H 987A Frank Anthony Public School Employees  Association vs Union of India  Ors   All Saints High School vs Government of Andhra Pradesh   In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 1959 SCR 995 Ahmeda bad St Xavier s College Society vs State of Gujarat  and Lilly Kurian vs Sr
Lewina  Ors   applied
State of Kerala vs Very Rev Mother Provincial  and DAV College vs State of Punjab 1971 Suppl
SCR 688 referred to
31 The decision in Frank Anthony Public School s case holding that sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act was applicable to the unaided minority 976 educational institutions proceeds upon the view taken by the majority in All Saints High School s case that the right guaranteed to religious and linguistic minorities by article 301 to establish and to administer educational institu tions of their choice was subject to the regulatory power of the State which in its turn was based on several decisions right from In re
the Kerala Education Bill 1957 down to St Xavier s case including that in Lilly Kurian s case
It could not therefore be said to be in conflict with the decision of the Constitution Bench in Lilly Kurian s case and required reconsideration
983BC 986FG 32 The endeavour of the Court in all the above cases has been to strike a balance between the constitutional obligation to protect what is secured to the minorities under article 301 with the social necessity to protect the members of the staff against arbitrariness and victimisa tion
The provision contained in sub s4 of section 8 of the Act is designed to afford some measure of protection to the teachers of such institutions without interfering with the managements  right to take disciplinary action
987E D 41 In a case like the present one where the management of an educational institution governed by sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act charged the petitioner with diversion of funds and communicated the impugned order of suspension pending departmental inquiry to the Director a duty was cast on him to come to a decision whether such immediate suspension was necessary by reason of the gross misconduct of the petition er as required by sub section
5 ors
8 of the Act
987F 988A 42 Since there was no response from the Director within the period of 15 days as envisaged by the second proviso to a 84 the impugned order of suspension had lapsed
Howev er the management could yet move the Director for his prior approval under sub section
4 of section 8 of the Act who would then deal with such an application if made in accordance with the principle laid down in the Frank Anthony Public School s case
988BC