wp5075.11.odt 1/2 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR. WRIT PETN. NO.5075/2011 Shankar Motiram Jadhav -vs- Presiding Officer, School Tribunal, Chandrapur and others ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Office notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court's or Judge's Orders. or directions and Registrar's orders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shri Rajgure, counsel for the petitioner. CORAM : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK, J. DATE : 10.10.2011. Heard Shri Rajgure, the learned counsel for the petitioner. The Presiding Officer, School Tribunal, Chandrapur did not commit any error in allowing the application filed by the respondent No.4 for condonation of delay in filing the appeal under Section 9 of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1977. The Tribunal observed that though the respondent No.4 was challenging the order passed by the management on 24/12/2010 by preferring the appeal on 13/07/2011, the short delay in approaching the Tribunal was satisfactorily explained as the respondent No.4 had made a representation to the Education Officer and also to the Additional Commissioner, Backward Class Cell. The Tribunal held and rightly so that the delay needed to be condoned as the wp5075.11.odt 2/2 respondent No.4 had approached the wrong forum before filing the appeal before the Presiding Officer, School Tribunal. The order is just and proper and calls for no interference. The submission made on behalf of the petitioner that the application for condonation of delay ought to have been rejected as the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to entertain the appeal is liable to be rejected. The Tribunal rightly considered the application for condonation of delay on its merit and found that there was sufficient cause in belatedly approaching the Tribunal. The question of tenability of the appeal would be now decided by the Tribunal as the delay in filing the appeal has been condoned. In the result, the writ petition fails and is dismissed with no order as to costs. JUDGE KHUNTE