Supreme Court Stays Allahabad HC Order Mandating Court Approval For Setting Up Educational Tribunals in UP

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an Allahabad High Court order stipulating that the Uttar Pradesh Educational Service Tribunals should be established only after the permission of the High Court.

“We find that the direction issued by the High Court, in effect requiring the State to establish Tribunal after taking leave of the Court, could not have been passed. In our view, the High Court order encroached upon the area reserved for legislature and executive,” the bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol said, while directing the High Court to decide the case on its own merits.

It added: “No doubt if the High Court found that the legislation concerned was not valid on account of the limited scope of judicial review available under Article 226, it could have set aside the legislation. But by an interim order, it could not have stayed the operation of the statute.”

The Supreme Court clarified that its stay order will operate till the matter is finally decided by the High Court.

The facts giving rise to the case can be summarized thus: In February, 2021, a Bill titled "Uttar Pradesh Education Service Tribunal Bill, 2021" was tabled in the UP State Assembly, which proposed establishment of a Tribunal for expeditious disposal of service cases relating to teaching and non-teaching staff of Educational Institutions receiving aid under the UP State Universities Act, 1973.

Under the Bill, headquarter of the Tribunal was proposed to be set up at Lucknow with a bench at Prayagraj (Allahabad). It was further proposed that the Tribunal shall have a Chairman, to be appointed in accordance with the procedure given, who will have discretion to determine days of sitting of the Tribunal at Lucknow as well as at Prayagraj.

Following the government's proposal, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) and Awadh Bar Association engaged in a tussle, the underlying issue being whether the Tribunal should be established at Prayagraj (where the Principal Seat of the High Court was situated), or at Lucknow (the city that was initially proposed by the State Government in 2019).

Both Associations went on strikes, with the Allahabad HCBA opposing the Bill for its proposal to establish Tribunal's Principal Bench in Lucknow, and the Awadh Bar Association opposing bifurcation of the Tribunal at 2 places.

Aggrieved at the halt of court proceedings in view of the strike, the Allahabad High Court took suo motu cognizance of the controversy. On March 3, 2021, noting that the number of service matters to be adjudicated by the proposed Tribunal was not too much, it put an embargo on the establishment of Educational Tribunals without prior leave from the court.

Aggrieved, State of UP moved the Supreme Court, contending that the High Court's order violated the basic structure doctrine and impinged upon legislative authority.

AAG Sharan Thakur,  Ms. Sakshi Kakkar, AOR, Mr. Mustafa, Adv. represented the State of UP.

CASE TITLE: THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH v. IN RE CONSTITUTION OF EDUCATION TRIBUNALS (SUO MOTO), C.A. No. 1424/2024

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 71

Click here to read the order