HC sets aside reinstatement of music teacher

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order passed by the Delhi School Tribunal directing a private school here to reinstate a music teacher, who had allegedly molested girl students and had misbehaved with lady teachers.
Justice Valmiki J Mehta allowed the petition filed by the management of the school which had challenged the August 2008 order passed by the tribunal directing reinstatement of the teacher who had resigned from the job in September 2000.
The music teacher had joined the school in 1994 and he had resigned from the post after a memo was handed over to him by the management seeking explanation regarding his alleged acts of outraging the modesty of girl students and misbehaving with lady teachers there.

He had approached the tribunal questioning his termination of service claiming that he was forced to tender resignation to the school.
His plea before the tribunal was contested by the school management which said there were about 800 girl students and about 80 to 85 lady teachers there and there were complaints against him that he was misbehaving with minor girls and even his lady colleagues.
While assailing the tribunal's order, the school contended before the high court that he had given resignation letter on September 12, 2000 and on the same day, it was accepted by the managing committee and thereafter approval of the Director of Education was sought, which was accorded on November 15, 2000.

In its order, the tribunal had dealt with the contentions of the man that he had withdrawn his resignation by letters of September 17 and September 28, 2000 respectively.

The tribunal had held that the approval of the Director of Education was given only on November 15, 2000 which showed that the resignation was "validly withdrawn".
The high court dealt with this issue and said, "Once resignation is accepted by the managing committee of a school then the approval required of the Director of Education is an 'ex-post facto' aspect so as to ensure that resignation should be taken as accepted by the school, but that does not mean that finalisation of the resignation does not take place on the resignation of the employee being accepted by the managing committee of the school.

"Also, I do not find that there could have been any reason for denial of the approval of resignation by the Director of Education....The Director of Education has given approval for acceptance of resignation on account of there existing serious issues of respondent no.3 (teacher) outraging the modesty of minor girls studying in the school as also misbehaving with the lady teachers in the school...," Justice Mehta said.