- (1.) HEARD counsel for the petitioner, counsel for the State of Jharkhand, counsel for the Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited (respondent Nos. 2 and 3) and counsel for the Jharkhand State Electricity Board.
(2.) THIS writ petition is filed by Ranchi Zila Nagrick Unayan Parisad, H.E.C. Ltd. Parisad Branch through its President, with a prayer to issue a writ of mandamus commanding upon the Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd. (H.E.C. Ltd.) not to close the H.E.C. Girls High School, Dhurwa and for other consequential reliefs including the providing of proper facilities in the H.E.C. Girls High School, Dhurwa and making available uninterrupted power supply. According to the petitioner, this writ petition has been filed in public interest, since the interest of parents and their wards, 1033 in number, studying in H.E.C. Girls High School, Dhurwa is involved. According to the petitioner, a notice was put up on the Notice Board of the Girls High School to the effect that from 21.4.2003 all the students in the Girls High School, Dhurwa, would be shifted and the students have to join the Boys School in Dhurwa and the Girls High School, both located in Sector -III of H.E.C. Ltd. According to the petitioner, by directing the Girl students to join the Girls High School in Sector -III, the H.E.C. Ltd. is compelling the students to travel four kilometers more to reach that school and this was not in public interest or in the interest of the children. Further it is submitted that the economic situation of H.E.C. is not good and as such it is not in a position to provide all the facilities to such a large number of students. Counsel added that after all, the guardians are paying for the education, and the right at least to elementary education is a fundamental right.
(3.) ON behalf of the H.E.C. Ltd., it is submitted that as an industry it is only a shadow of its former self and that the number of employees have to come down to 4000. The company has given an undertaking to reduce the strength further to 2000 before the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. In that context the company had to take a decision relating to the three schools that are being run by it in that area. The company therefore constituted a Committee of Principals for studying the situation and to suggest ways as to how the academic activities could be managed efficiently and fairly with the existing manpower. There is also the further reason that the Dhurwa Girls School did not have adequate teaching staff especially in the science subject. There was also a boys School in Dhurwa run by H.E.C. Ltd., which was located about 250 meters away from the Girls School. The Committee after studying the facts made the following recommendations on 24.4.2003 : "(i) There is no sense in running 2 High Schools in Dhurwa area at a distance of only 250 meters instead only one School in Dhurwa area and other in Sector -III should be run with adequate No. of subject teachers. (ii) Girls H/S, Dhurwa, which is running in a temporary building be merged with Boy H/S, Dhurwa and Girls H/S, Sector - III. Students of Class -I to V be transferred to Boys High School, Dhurwa and students of Class -VI to X to Girls H/S, Sector -III. (iii) Girls High School, Sector -III having a permanent building and located centrally in H.E.C, Township was found most suitable for running the Girls School.";