In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of a 2021 amendment to the Gujarat Secondary & Higher Secondary Education Act, allowing the State to regulate the appointment of principals and teachers in religious and linguistic minority institutions.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the amendment, ruling that the regulation does not violate the rights of minority institutions under Article 30 of the Constitution.
State Regulation Does Not Violate Minority Rights
The petitioners, a group of aided minority institutions, argued that the amendment infringed upon their autonomy. However, the Court found that the State’s power to regulate does not amount to encroachment.
“The impugned provisions of the Act, 1972, conferring enabling power upon the State to make rules to regulate minority institutions in order to bring equality in the matter of administration… cannot be said to be hit by Article 14 or ultra vires to Articles 29 and 30,” the Bench held.
The judgment clarifies that while minority institutions have the right to administer themselves, this right is not absolute and remains subject to reasonable regulations in the interest of educational standards.
State Rules Ensure Merit-Based Selection
The 2021 amendment empowers the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board to determine qualifications, selection methods, and service conditions for teachers and principals in registered minority institutions.
The Court ruled that these provisions do not amount to a transgression of Article 30 (1), which guarantees minorities the right to administer educational institutions.
“The governing criteria prescribed in the Rules, 2021 for the post of Principal, in no manner, can be said to be hit by Article 30… The provision ensures that the Scrutiny Committee adopts a fair criteria to prepare a pool of the best available talent purely on merit,” the Court observed.
Implications of the Ruling
The ruling sets a precedent for balancing the rights of minority institutions with the State’s authority to ensure transparency and meritocracy in education. By upholding the amendment, the High Court has reinforced the State’s role in maintaining academic standards while respecting the constitutional protections afforded to minority institutions.
Senior Advocates Mihir Thakore and Shalin Mehta, along with a team of lawyers, represented the petitioners, while the State defended the amendment as a necessary reform.
Case: Mount Carmel High School & Anr vs State of Gujarat & Ors – Available on LAWFYI.IO
