No DoE nod in 15 days, school staff suspension lapses: Delhi HC

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Delhi HC rules that a private school employee’s suspension without prior DoE approval lapses if not approved within 15 days. The court clarified that a belated approval cannot revive the suspension, resolving conflicting earlier judgments on the matter.

In an important order on the suspension of employees in recognised private schools, a Full Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that an order suspending an employee without prior approval of the Director of Education (DoE) automatically lapses if such approval is not granted within 15 days. The Court clarified that any approval granted after the expiry of the statutory 15-day period cannot revive the lapsed suspension, and if the management still seeks to suspend the employee, it must obtain prior approval and issue a fresh suspension order.

Court Resolves Conflicting Rulings

The Full Bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar, Justice Om Prakash Shukla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar answered a reference arising from conflicting Division Bench decisions in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth v. Director of Education and Delhi Public School Dwarka v. Sarika Prasad concerning the interpretation of the second proviso to Section 8(4) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.

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The Court held that where a school management invokes the first proviso to Section 8(4) and places an employee under immediate suspension without prior approval, such suspension can remain in force only for 15 days. If approval from the Director of Education is not received within that period, the suspension comes to an end by operation of law and cannot subsequently be revived by a belated approval.

Disagreeing with the view taken in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, the Full Bench observed that the statute is clear and does not permit “breathing life into a dead body”. It held that once the statutory period expires without approval, there is no subsisting suspension that can be validated by a later order. The Bench further observed that treating an employee as continuing under suspension after the lapse of the statutory period would be contrary to the mandate of the Act.

School Management Not Left Remediless

The Court endorsed the legal position laid down by the Full Bench in Delhi Public School v. Director of Education, which had clarified that while a suspension lapses after 15 days in the absence of approval, the school management is not left remediless. It may seek judicial review if the Director delays the decision or, upon obtaining the necessary approval, issues a fresh suspension order.

Ruling Aligns with Supreme Court Precedent

The Bench also relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Y Theclamma v. Union of India, which had declared that a suspension order lapses if the Director fails to respond within 15 days. The High Court noted that the Supreme Court had further clarified that any fresh suspension thereafter would require prior approval under Section 8(4), thereby ruling out the possibility of a belated approval reviving the earlier suspension.

Answering the reference, the Full Bench held that if approval to an order of suspension passed under the first proviso to Section 8(4) is not received within 15 days, the suspension automatically ceases. Any approval granted thereafter is ineffective and cannot revive the lapsed suspension. The Court agreed in principle with the view expressed in Sarika Prasad and expressed respectful disagreement with the contrary view taken in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth.

The Court directed that the main writ petition be listed before the appropriate Bench as per the roster on July 31, subject to the orders of the Chief Justice. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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