In a recent order, on a contempt petition filed by the teachers of the school, Justice A P Shah of the Bombay High Court directed the S S Ajmera Trust to return Rs 1,21,176, allegedly siphoned off by the trust to the school. The stern orders were passed on Friday, just two days after the trust was directed to hand over the administration of the school to a committee of teachers.

The latest orders came after a round of litigation that had started early this year, when teachers like Dayashankar B Yadav challenged its closure notice of February 16, 1999. There was no sanction from the Department of Education to it, and the teachers had pleaded that the administration of the school should be handed over to the committee of teachers formed, as had been done in an earlier high court order of 1997.

In their various grievances recorded by the Chief Justicein a July order, the petitioners had stated that the trust had been making repeated efforts to close the school. It alleged that the trust had opened the school at its residential complex at Yoginagar, Borivili, only to obtain the exemption under the Urban Land Ceiling Act. It had no interest in running the school or pay its teachers the prescribed rates of fees. In fact, this was the third effort by the trust to close the school, the earlier two being in 1995 and 1996.

The Chief Justice, while admitting the petition, had directed that the committee of teachers would take over the administration of the school and the Deputy Director of Education to go into the grievance of the non-payment of salaries.

Meanwhile, the trust preferred an appeal against the order in the Supreme Court and its special leave petition was dismissed on the submission that it will approach the high court again, for a review of the order. This, however, was not entertained by the bench of the Chief Justice, which dismissed thereview petition, as well.

When nothing materialised, the petitioners took out a contempt petition against the trust, that was eventually heard by Justice Shah. Appearing for the petitioners advocate Susheel Mahadeshwar argued that not only was the management not handed over to the teachers, but a sum of around Rs 2.5 lakh had been siphoned off the school accounts. Denying the charge, counsel for the trust G R Hegde showed statements that certain amounts of money had been deposited in the school accounts.

Mahadeshwar, however, contended that these amounts were the school fees that were collected and deposited in the school accounts recently. Justice Shah then enquired why the trust had to withdraw money at all, to which the counsel for the trust had no answer. Justice Shah then directed that the money be deposited back within two weeks and recorded that the trust owes the school, Rs 1,21,176.