Right To Protest Peacefully Significant Feature of A Democratic Country’: Madras High Court Quashes Proceedings Against Teachers.
Title : J.Jayaraj v. The Chief Educational Officer
Case No. : W.P.(MD)Nos.13409 to 13415 of 2022
CORAM : THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI
Decided on : 17.11.2023
Introduction
Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Certiorari, calling for the records relating to impugned proceedings order in Na.Ka.No. 2469/A3/2022 dated 06.06.2022 of the second respondent herein and quash the same.
Fact of the Case
The petitioners are Secondary Grade Teachers working in various Panchayat Primary Union and Middle Schools in various Unions of Karur District. All of them are members of the Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers Federation bearing Registration No.60/2009. One Thiru.J.Jeyaraj/petitioner in W.P.(MD)No.13409 of 2022 is the District Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers Federation (herein after referred to as ‘Teachers Federation’). The object of formation of the said Teachers Federation is to work for the welfare of the Teachers and to ventilate the grievance of the Teachers working across the State by maintaining the cordial relationship between the Education Authorities, State and Teachers.
Case Analysis and Judgment
In the instant case, a group of 70 Teachers who are members of the Teacher’s Federation having properly represented to the respondents who are theOfficers of the Educational Department, Karur District bringing to their notice the illegal/irregular suspension of one of the member Thiru.
Suspended the petitioners from the date of agitation on 11.04.2022 and reinstated the petitioners back to service on the intervention of said Teachers Federation on 06.06.2022, the second respondent ought not to have visited the petitioners with the impugned charge memos dated 06.06.2022 under Rule 17(b) of Tamil Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1955. The reason is simple that the petitioners who have ventilated their grievances by organizing an agitation lawfully as against the respondents should not be punished by the issuance of impugned charge memos and allegations set forth by the impugned charge memos has emanated from lapse of application of mind of the respondents and not covered by the various guidelines framed by the Government of Tamil Nadu as discussed supra.
https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/j-jayaraj-v-chief-educational-officer-506496-506653.pdf
