- (1.) FOUR petitioners have jointly filed this writ petition for issuance of writ of mandamus for commending the respondent no.6, namely, the Head Mistress of Sakhawat Memorial Govt. Girls High School to forthwith give admission to the petitioners in the said school on the basis of their application for admission in Urdu section in Class XI (Arts). Certain other incidental reliefs have also been claimed by the petitioners in the said writ petition.
(2.) THE petitioners were all students of Sakhawat Memorial Govt. Girls High School (hereinafter referred to as the said school). THEy studied in the said school from K.G.-I upto Class X with their first language Urdu. Each of them passed Madhyamik Pariksha in 2011 having secured 60% marks in aggregate. THEy sought for admission in Class XI of the said school in Humanities Group with Urdu as their first language. Only five students in Humanities Group having Urdu as the first language were admitted in Class XI in the said school. The names of the petitioners were included in the waiting list. But ultimately admission was not given to them by the school authority. The petitioners contend that since the petitioners studied in the said school from K.G.-I to Class X having Urdu as their first language and have also came out successfully in the Madhyamik Pariksha in 2011 having secured 60% marks in aggregate, admission ought not have been denied to them by limiting seats for the students seeking admission in the Humanities Group with Urdu as their first language. In fact, the respondent no.6 has not only been accused for her inefficiency for not increasing the intake capacity of the students in Humanities Group with Urdu as the first language in the said school but she was also accused for her arbitrary and discriminatory treatment towards the petitioners herein for denying their admission in the said school. Under such circumstances, the instant writ petition was filed by the petitioners herein. The respondent no.6 has contested this writ petition by filing her affidavit-in-opposition contending therein that there was no seat for the students having Urdu as their first language in the Higher Secondary section, prior to 2000. But as per the instruction given by the then Education Minister in 2000, the school authority had to admit altogether ten students, (five in the Science Group and five in the Arts Group having Urdu as their first language) in the Higher Secondary section though no teaching staff was provided for such students in Higher Secondary section. The existing teaching staff of the secondary section of the said school started teaching those students in the Higher Secondary section. Since then such system is being continued.
(3.) THOUGH the school authority feels much difficulty in continuing this system due to lack of sufficient infrastructure and for insufficient staff strength in the said school still then the school authority could not discontinue the said system due to ministerial intervention and also by considering the constant demand of the home students for their admission in Class XI in the said school. It is further contended by her that in spite of repeated request made by her to the concerned authority neither the infrastructure has been improved nor any additional teacher has been provided for teaching such students having Urdu as the first language in the Higher Secondary section of the said school. It is further contended by her that all the ten students (five in Arts stream & five in Science stream) who were admitted in Class XI of the said school, are home students and they were selected for such admission on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Secondary Examination. It is further contended by her that none of the petitioners secured more marks than any of the candidates who were admitted in the Humanities Group in Class XI in the said school. It is also contended by her that the petitioners were all included in the waiting list according to their performance in the Secondary Examination. As such she claimed that the allegations made by the petitioners against her about her alleged arbitrary and/or discriminatory action in selection of five students for their admission in Class XI in the said school, are absolutely baseless and unfounded.;