The Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed a PIL, expressing the grievance with regard to selection of Government Higher Secondary School, Sakti, District- Janjgir Champa as Government-Model Excellence School for the year 2020-21.
It is stated by the Petitioner , O. P. Kaiwart , that after such declaration as an Excellence School, students, who were earlier pursuing studies in Classes 6th, 7th and 8th, were issued transfer certificates and subsequently, new admissions had been granted without following any procedure. For filling up the vacancies of the teachers, advertisement was issued without sanction of posts and teachers of Hindi Medium are selected for teaching in Excellence School.
It is pleaded that Excellence School can also be in Hindi Medium in addition to English Medium, but in the instant case, it has been started only in English Medium.
In the return filed by the State, it is pointed out that the petitioner himself was working as a Lecturer in the very same school before the school was converted as English Medium School and he was transferred to Government Higher Secondary School, Adbhar.
It is stated that the students who intended to pursue their studies in Hindi Medium were issued transfer certificates to facilitate their admission in schools imparting education in Hindi Medium.
In the rejoinder filed, the petitioner has accepted that he was transferred by an order dated 09.12.2020.
While considering the PIL , the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice Sanjay Agrawal held that it is well-settled that if a petitioner suppresses material facts, the Court may dismiss the petition on that ground without adjudicating the same.
The petitioner has withheld a very material fact while filing the present petition. Apparently, the petitioner has some personal interest in the matter. The very foundation of writ jurisdiction rests in candid disclosure of true, complete and correct facts.
In such circumstances, the Court was not inclined to entertain the PIL, more so, as none of the parents of students who were allegedly given transfer certificates had approached the High Court complaining of any arbitrary action on the part of the respondents.