1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.2431 OF 2008 Sane Guruji Shikshan Sanstha .. Petitioner. Vs. State of Maharashtra and others ..Respondents. ..... Mr. D.V. Sutar i/b Mr. M.B. Gawade for the Petitioner. Mr. R.M. Patne, AGP for Respondents 1 to 3. Mr. A.G. Kulkarni for Respondent NO.4. ..... CORAM: DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, J. 23rd April, 2008. P.C. : 1. Rule, made returnable forthwith. Counsel appearing for the Respondents waive service. By consent of the learned counsel, taken up for hearing and final disposal. 2. The Fourth Respondent is the original appellant before the School Tribunal in an appeal which has been instituted for challenging an order passed by the Petitioner reducing him in rank. The appeal is pending. The appeal was instituted in 1996 after a delay of approximately three years and three months. The application for condonation of delay was allowed on 10th August, 2 2007. The Petitioner instituted a writ petition before this Court to challenge the order of the School Tribunal which was dismissed by a Learned Single Judge of this Court on 12th March, 2008. It has been stated that the appeal was thereupon listed on 28th March, 2008 for filing of the written statement. The case of the Petitioner is that an application was filed by the Fourth Respondent for the expeditious hearing of the appeal. The Petitioner claims that it was not served with a copy of the memo of appeal or the documents filed therewith. The Presiding Officer of the School Tribunal passed an order on 28th March, 2008 expediting the appeal. A direction was also issued that the appeal shall proceed without the written statement of the Petitioner herein. 3. The Petitioner is aggrieved by the denial of the permission to file a written statement. At this stage the material on the record would indicate that it was on 10th August, 2007 that the delay of nearly three years and three months in filing of the appeal by the Fourth Respondent was condoned by the Tribunal. The Petition instituted before this Court was dismissed on 12th March, 2008 and the appeal was listed before the Tribunal on 28th March, 2008. In these circumstances, the ends of justice will require that 3 permission should be granted to the Petitioner to file a written statement. Accordingly, the Writ Petition shall stand disposed of in the following terms : i) Counsel appearing for the Fourth Respondent states before the Court that a copy of the memo of appeal and the documents upon which reliance is placed by the Fourth Respondent would be served upon the advocate appearing on behalf of the Petitioner on 29th April, 2008 which is the next date of hearing before the Tribunal; ii) Upon receipt of the appeal and documents as stated in Clause (i) above, the Petitioner shall file its written statement, if any, before the Tribunal on or before 9th June, 2008. The appeal shall be listed before the Tribunal for directions on 10th June, 2008 at which stage the Tribunal may pass appropriate directions of a consequential nature for the disposal of the appeal expeditiously. The order of the School Tribunal dated 28th March, 2008 directing that the appeal shall proceed without the written statement of the Petitioner is accordingly quashed and set aside. 4 The Petition is allowed in the aforesaid terms. There shall be no order as to costs. *****