June 9: The Bombay High Court recently struck down a government resolution (GR) which required employees from south Mumbai schools to travel to Navi Mumbai to file a case in a school tribunal.

The GR (dated February 19, 1997) constituting an additional school tribunal near Belapur was challenged by the Educational Institution Practitioners Association and others who filed a petition in April 1997. The proposed tribunal was not essential since a school tribunal catering to the schools in south Mumbai was already functioning near Churchgate station, explained advocate Mihir Desai, who represented the petitioners.

The GR was sought to be justified on the ground that there are three school tribunals in the area, one is located in Mumbai, another at Nasik and the third one at Navi Mumbai. In order to distribute the work equitably, each tribunal was sought to be allotted 25,000 employees, argued the assistant government pleader, R J Mane.Justice Ashok Agarwal and Justice S D Gundewar in their order observed, ``There is no justification to attach the schools located in South Bombay with the school tribunal in New Bombay when there is already a school tribunal located in South Bombay. To expect the employees of these schools which are located in South Bombay to approach the school tribunal in New Bombay will entail a lot of hardship.''``If at all the state government desires to attach 25,000 employees to the school tribunal in New Bombay,'' the judgment observed, ``it could as well have attached schools contiguous to New Bombay areas to the said tribunal, rather than attach schools in South Bombay which are located at a far away distance.''Schools which are located in areas such as Dahisar, Mulund etc which are now attached to the school tribunal in Bombay and are located at a shorter distance from New Bombay could well have been conveniently attached to the tribunal in Navi Mumbai, the order stated.``In the circumstances, the aforesaid Government Resolution insofar as it attaches the schools located in South Bombay to the school tribunal in New Bombay is found to be unreasonable and is therefore quashed and set aside,'' the order concluded.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.