Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (June 13) quashed the order issued by the Commissioner of Public Instruction asking the Education Department to continue the functioning of the New Type Model School (NTMS) on Narayana Shastry Road at its present location.

This High Court ruling has come as a relief to Ramakrishna Ashrama that intends to construct a Viveka Memorial known as Swami Vivekananda Memorial Cultural Youth Centre to commemorate the visit of Swamy  Vivekananda to Mysore in 1892 in the place where Swamy Vivekananda stayed in Mysore for about two weeks. This place is presently called the Niranjan Mutt which is abutting the NTMS.

The Commissioner, in his order issued on May 31, 2014, had asked the education department to continue the school on the same campus for the academic year 2014-2015 and admit students despite an order issued by the State government in 2013 to transfer the land to Ramakrishna Ashrama to construct the Viveka Memorial.

Authorities from Mysore Ramakrishna Ashrama and Ramakrishna Mission in Kolkata had moved the High Court questioning the order issued by the Commissioner. Hearing the petitions, Justice S. Sujatha passed the order dated June 13. The Commissioner had contended that he followed Chief Minister’s oral direction asking the Education Department to start new admissions to the school for the academic  year 2014-15.

In the judgement, Justice Sujatha said that it was not possible at this juncture to decide on issue of either amending or withdrawing the Government order to handover the land to Ramakrishna Ashrama. If at all there is  opposition to the handover of the land and if the Government intends to cancel its earlier order of handing over the land to Ramakrishna Ashrama, it must do so in consultation with the Ashrama authorities and only then announce its decision, Justice Sujatha observed.

The Commissioner of Public Instruction is a government servant and as it was the government that sanctioned the land to Ramakrishna Ashrama, the officer cannot pass an order that goes against the government order, the Court ruled. Orders must not be passed based on verbal directions from political leaders and such orders issued by politicians and senior officers must mandatorily be in written format as per Supreme Court order. In the present case, this SC order has not been followed, Justice Sujatha opined.

The Court further said that the Commissioner’s order to continue NTMS at the same place is beyond his power and jurisdiction and as such it is illegal, the  Court ruled.

ABOUT THE CASE

On January 9, 2013, the Commissioner of Public Instruction had passed an order to handover the NTMS land on Narayana Shastry Road to Ramakrishna Ashrama for the construction of Viveka Memorial or Swami Vivekananda Memorial Cultural Youth Centre. Later, an order was passed on March 15, 2013, to merge the NTM School with the nearby Devaraja Urs Government Higher Primary School. Questioning this, petitions were filed in the High Court in 2013 where all the petitions were dismissed by the Court the same year.

In their petition, Ramakrishna Ashrama authorities had contended that the order passed by the Commissioner of Public Instruction on May 31, 2014 asking Education Department to continue the NTM School on the same campus prevented them from constructing the Viveka Memorial. The Ashrama authorities had prayed the Court to quash the Commissioner’s order.  

At present, 38 students study from first standard to seventh standard at NTM School. The school opened in June this year. There are three teachers including the Head Master. However, in the year 2013 there were less than 10 students and that was the reason why it was decided by the then BJP Government to merge this NTM School with the nearby Devaraj Urs Government Higher Primary School and utilise the land for a similar purpose by constructing Viveka Memorial in that place.

It may be recalled that a prolonged agitation was held between those who wanted Viveka Memorial in the NTM School land and those who opposed it saying the school should not be closed and the Viveka Memorial could be constructed anywhere else.