- (1.) S .U. Khan, J. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned standing counsel for respondents No.1, 2 and 3.
(2.) THIS writ petition was listed in Court No.28. By order of Hon'ble the Chief Justice/ Hon'ble Senior Judge, the work of Court No.28 was also assigned to me on 13.01.2009. Petitioner was appointed as peon in Haquim Mukut Lal, Uchchatar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Bulandshahr on 01.07.1977. The school in question is privately managed but aided by the Government and is governed by provisions of U.P. High Schools and Intermediate Colleges (Payment of Salaries of Teachers and other employees) Act, 1971 (U.P. Act No.24 of 1971) and salary to its employees is paid by the Government under the said Act. The dispute is as to whether date of birth of petitioner is 10.07.1940 or 10.07.1948. District Inspector of Schools decided the matter in favour of the petitioner through order dated 01.09.2000 (Annexure-4 to the writ petition). Against the said order, management filed appeal. Joint Director of Education I, Mandal Meerut through order dated 05.01.2001 allowed the appeal, set aside the order of the D.I.O.S. and declared that petitioner's date of birth was 10.07.1940 and he retired on 31.07.2000. The said order has been challenged through this writ petition.
(3.) THE first argument of learned counsel for the petitioner is that against order of D.I.O.S. dated 01.09.2000, no appeal was maintainable. Under administrative hierarchy, Joint Director of Education is higher than D.I.O.S. If D.I.O.S. passes an order unnecessarily burdening the State exchequer or any other order concerning recognised aided educational institutions, Director or Joint Director under administrative hierarchy is fully empowered to adjudge the correctness of the said order and to set that aside in case that is not legally tenable. In strict legal sense, appeal might not be maintainable but nomenclature is never fatal. The power exercised by Joint Director of Education was in the nature of administrative review which was quite permissible.;