Allahabad High Court: In a writ petition filed against orders passed by the Secretary, Kshetriya Shri Gandhi Ashram, Meerut (‘Ashram’) requiring the petitioner to vacate his official quarters, J.J. Munir, J. has held that the Ashram is not a State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution, and that there is no violation of a public duty or public obligation, cast upon the Ashram to make it amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Background:
The petitioner was employed as a Supervisor in Ashram and transferred to Shri Gandhi Ashram, Baghpat vide an order passed by the Secretary.
It was alleged that due to the complaints made by the petitioner before the Branch Manager of the Union Bank and the Canara Bank, where accounts of the Ashram, are maintained, about execution of a forged sale deed on behalf of the Ashram and misuse of funds by the Ashram, led the Secretary to pass the impugned order impugned dismissing the petitioner from service, without holding any inquiry. It was contended that the order is bad in the eye of law as it was passed without affording opportunity of hearing. By the other impugned order, the petitioner has been asked to handover possession of the house allotted to him as an employee of the Ashram, Meerut. Both orders were impugned by the petitioner through the present writ petition.
Contentions:
The petitioner has relied upon the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1960 (‘Act, 1960’) to submit that the Ashram, discharges statutory duties of a public character, and, therefore, the present writ petition is maintainable.
The respondents submitted that the Kshetriya Shri Gandhi Ashram is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is neither an instrumentality of the State nor in the exercise of duties it performs, does it discharge any kind public functions. The provisions of the Act of 1960 do not apply. It was also submitted that the Khadi Ashram Sewa Niyamawali is not at all statutory in character and are service rules framed by the private registered society for its employees. Even if there is violation of the Sewa Niyamawali or principles of natural justice, a writ petition would not lie against a private registered society, unless the society is discharging functions essentially of a public character or there is any violation of a statute.
Analysis and decision:
The Court noted that in U.P. State Coop. Land Development Bank Ltd. v. Chandra Bhan Dubey, (1999) 1 SCC 741 the Supreme Court does seem to obliterate the divide between public duties and private duties or public functions and private functions for the purpose of maintainability of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution and greatly expanded the scope of the High Court’s writ. However, the Court said that this case is concerned with the maintainability of a writ petition in the context of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Land Development Bank, an entity not only governed by the Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1965, that deeply regulates the functions of a Cooperative Society, and was subject to statutory control by the State Government.
The Court said that the case of a society, like Shri Gandhi Ashram, is very different. It is no more than a registered society, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Ashram is a regional body. Its parent body is the Shri Gandhi Ashram, Lucknow. There is no statute regulating the functioning of society or providing the State and its Officers with control over their affairs.
The Court took note of Suresh Ram v. State of U.P., 2005 SCC OnLine All 727, wherein the Court opined that Shri Gandhi Ashram Khadi Bhandar is not a State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution.
Thus, the Court said that there is no violation of a public duty or public obligation, cast upon the Ashram to make it amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
[Prem Chand v. State of UP, 2024 SCC OnLine All 3030, Order dated 24-05-2024]
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