Private Service disputes of unaided schools beyond writ jurisdiction: High Court

07/08/2026

JAMMU, Aug 6: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that purely contractual service disputes between employees and private unaided educational institu-tions cannot be adjudicated under Article 226 of the Constit-ution unless the dispute involves a clear public law or statutory element.
Justice Shahzad Azeem delivered the judgment while dismissing a writ petition filed by Showkat Yousuf Shah and other teachers of Army Goodwill School, Wayne, Kupwara, challenging the maintainability of the proceedings.
The petitioners, who were appointed as Primary, Trained Graduate and Postgraduate Teachers between 2013 and 2017, sought implementation of CBSE pay scales and protection of their services, alleging that the school management initiated steps to replace them after they sought salary fixation in accor-dance with CBSE norms.
They contended that termination of their services without reasonable cause would violate Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution and also invoked the doctrine of legitimate expectation.
Appearing for the petitioners, advocates Anjum Ara and Asif Nabi argued that the teachers were holding substantive posts in the CBSE-affiliated institution and were entitled to the prescribed pay scales.
Opposing the petition, Deputy Solicitor General of India Tahir Majid Shamsi, assisted by advocate Yasmeen Jan, submitted that the Army Goodwill School is a self-financed institution established under Operation Sadbhavana and is neither a government department nor a government-aided institution. The respondents also contended that the petitioners were engaged on yearly contractual appointments and had no vested right to continuation or regularisation.
The court observed that the school is administered by the Army Goodwill Education Society, a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, and that recruitment, service conditions, pay and termination of employees are governed by its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
It further noted that the institution does not receive annual financial assistance from the government or any statutory authority and is run through self-generated resources, support from NGOs and corporate foundations, besides limited assistance under Operation Sadbhavana.
Relying on the Supreme Court's judgment in Army Welfare Education Society versus Sunil Kumar Sharma and Others, Justice Azeem held that although imparting education is a public function, every service dispute arising from a private contractual relationship does not acquire a public law character warranting judicial review under Article 226.
The court observed that CBSE affiliation bye-laws do not possess statutory force and are primarily meant for recognition, curriculum and academic purposes.
Holding that the Army Goodwill School was neither created by statute nor governed by statutory service rules, the court ruled that the relationship between the institution and its employees was purely contractual and governed exclusively by the SOP.
"Only those decisions which possess a public element can be subjected to judicial scrutiny under Article 226," the court observed, adding that a writ of mandamus cannot be issued where the challenged action is essentially private in nature.
Accepting the preliminary objection raised by the respondents, the High Court declared the writ petition non-maintainable, dismissed it, vacated all interim directions and disposed of the connected applications.

Photo Gallery

BSE Sensex

NSE Nifty