O.P.Garg, J. - (1.) The dispute relates about the continuance and functioning of Sri Dharam Raj Chaudhary-respondent No. 5 as the Principal of Sri Ram Janki Intermediate College, Girdharpur, Kungai. Siddharthanagar. The facts leading to the present writ petition are as follows : There is an institution known as Sri Ram Janki Intermediate College, Girdharpur, Kungai, Siddharthanagar which has been upgraded from time to time and now has acquired the status of an intermediate college. Sri Dharam Raj Chaudhary-respondent No. 5 was admittedly appointed as the Principal of the college. On account of certain allegations of squandering of the huge amount of the college and commission of various other irregularities, he was placed under suspension by the Committee of Management by order dated 10.1.1981. After due enquiry, he was dismissed from service on 1.9.1981. The relevant papers were sent for approval to the Basic Siksha Adhikari who refused to accord necessary approval as required by law by order dated 1.6.1982. The Committee of Management preferred an appeal before the Basic Siksha Parishad. The said appeal was allowed by order dated 3.1.1983 and the order passed by the Basic Siksha Adhikari to refuse the approval to the order of dismissal of the respondent No. 5 was set aside. Sri Dharam Raj Chaudhary challenged the order passed by the Basic Siksha Parishad by instituting Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 727 of 1982 which was dismissed at the initial stage by this Court on 21.1.1983. Thereafter Sri Dharam Raj Chaudhary filed a Civil Suit No. 19 of 1983 in the Court of Munsif, Bansi, district Siddharthanagar to challenge the order passed by the Basic Siksha Parishad. With the filing of the suit. he also moved an application (12C) for temporary injunction for a direction to restrain the defendants not to interfere with his functioning as the Principal of the College. An ex parte order of injunction was granted which was later on confirmed on 30.5.1983. The Committee of Management was not a party to the suit and. therefore, the present petitioner No. 2-Ram Kishore Das Bhikari. Chela Baba Mangal Das moved an application for impleadment which was rejected by the trial court by order dated 30.5.1983. The petitioner No. 2 filed a Civil Revision No. 181 of 1983 to challenge the order of the trial court whereby the application for impleadment was rejected. A Misc. Civil Appeal No. 207 of 1983 was also preferred against the order of injunction. Both the revision application and the misc. civil appeal were allowed by two separate orders dated 3.9.1984. The petitioner No. 2 was directed to be impleaded as party to the suit. The appeal with regard to the order of injunction was allowed and the order of injunction granted by the trial court was set aside. It was directed that the application for temporary injunction shall be decided afresh after giving an opportunity of hearing to both the parties. Sri Dharam Raj Chaudhary, preferred a Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 14148 of 1984 against the said orders. The said writ petition was dismissed on 9.9.1996 by observing : "An application has been filed by the petitioner supported by his affidavit to dismiss the petition as not pressed. It is alleged that the petitioner has received the desired relief and as such he does not want to further adjudicate the matter. Copy of this application was served on the learned counsel for the respondents. There is no opposition. The application is allowed. The writ petition is dismissed as not pressed. 9.9.1996 Sd. S.C. Verma, J." Undeterred by the various orders passed in the civil suit and the writ petition, the respondent No. 5-Dharam Raj Chaudhary continued to function as Principal of the College which had in the meantime come to be upgraded. The Committee of Management of the college, through its President Sri Sant Ram Chaudhary and Ram Kishore Das Bhikari claiming himself to be a life member of the society and interested in the welfare of the institution run by the society, filed the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the prayer that the defendant-respondent No. 5 be prevented from acting and functioning as the Principal of the College and that the proceeding in Suit No. 19 of 1983 now pending in the Court of Civil Judge (Junior Division) Siddharthanagar be quashed. It was also prayed that the respondent Nos. 1 to 4 be directed to make an enquiry into the alleged continuance of respondent No. 5 as Principal of the College after 3.1.1983 and to recover the amount paid to him as salary.
(2.) A number of counter, rejoinder and supplementary-affidavits have been exchanged. This writ petition was taken up for hearing on 28.1.1999 on which date Sri Rakesh Kumar appearing for and on behalf of the Committee of Management of the institution, moved an application that the petition be dismissed as not pressed as the newly constituted committee does not want to prosecute the writ petition. Accordingly on the statement of Sri Rakesh Kumar, Advocate, who was engaged by the Committee of Management of the institution concerned, the writ petition was dismissed on 28.1.1999. Thereafter Sri A. K. Gupta, who had earlier filed the writ petition, moved an application with the prayer that the order of dismissal of the writ petition passed on 28.1.1999 be recalled and the writ petition be heard on merits. After hearing Sri Rakesh Kumar along with Sri S. K. Lal, counsel for the newly constituted Committee of Management, the order dated 28.1.1999 was recalled on 15.3.1999 for determining the question of maintainability or otherwise of the present writ petition in the light of the subsequent events. This is how the present writ petition has again come before this Court for hearing.
(3.) Heard S/Sri R. S. Misra, A. K. Gupta. learned counsel for the petitioners, S/Sri Rakesh Kumar and S. K. Lal for the alleged newly constituted Committee of Management, Dr. R. G. Padia appearing on behalf of Sri Dharam Raj Chaudhary, respondent No. 5-Principal of the College, as well as learned standing counsel on behalf of the other respondents, at length.;