Private School Employee's Suspension Automatically Ends If DOE Approval Isn't Received Within 15 Days: Delhi High Court Full Bench
A Full Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that suspension of an employee of a recognised private school automatically lapses if the Director of Education (DOE) does not approve it within 15 days.“Any later order of approval passed by the Director of Education would not revive the said suspension,” the Full Bench comprising Justices C. Hari Shankar, Om Prakash Shukla and Renu...
A Full Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that suspension of an employee of a recognised private school automatically lapses if the Director of Education (DOE) does not approve it within 15 days.
“Any later order of approval passed by the Director of Education would not revive the said suspension,” the Full Bench comprising Justices C. Hari Shankar, Om Prakash Shukla and Renu Bhatnagar added.
The judges further held that if the school still considers suspension necessary, it must obtain fresh prior approval from the DOE.
The Full bench was answering a reference made by a Single Judge to resolve a conflict between two Division Bench judgments in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth v. Director of Education and Delhi Public School Dwarka v. Sarika Prasad on the interpretation of the second proviso to Section 8(4) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.
For context, Section 8 prescribes terms and conditions of service of employees of recognised private schools. Section 8(4) stipulates that the school cannot suspend an employee without prior approval of the Director.
First proviso to Section 8(4) permits suspension of employee without prior approval if immediate suspension is necessary by reason of the gross misconduct.
The second proviso stipulates that no such immediate suspension shall remain in force for more than a period of fifteen days from the date of suspension unless it has been communicated to the Director and approved by him before the expiry of the said period.
The issue before the Full Bench was whether a suspension order, initially passed without prior approval under the first proviso to Section 8(4), could stand revived if the Director of Education granted approval after the expiry of the statutory 15-day period.
Rejecting the view taken in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, the Bench held that the statute leaves no room for such revival.
"In case no approval of the director is received within a period of 15 days, the second proviso to Section 8(4) is categorical that the suspension would come to an end. Any approval granted to the suspension thereafter would, therefore, be of no consequence, as there was no suspension in existence. It is not possible to breathe life into a dead body," the Court observed.
It held that once the 15-day period expires without approval, the suspension ceases by operation of law. If the school management subsequently decides that the employee should again be suspended, it must pass a fresh suspension order after obtaining the Director's prior approval.
The Court found that this interpretation was consistent with the Full Bench decision in Delhi Public School v. Director of Education as well as the Supreme Court's ruling in Mrs. Y. Theclamma v. Union of India, both of which contemplate a fresh suspension order rather than revival of an expired one.
Disagreeing with the contrary reasoning in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, the Full Bench observed that delayed approval could not amount to compliance with Section 8(4), nor could the employer's continued treatment of the employee as suspended extend the suspension contrary to the statutory mandate.
The main writ petition has now been directed to be listed before the appropriate roster Bench on July 31, 2026.
Appearance: Mr. Khagesh B Jha, Ms. Shikha Sharma Bagga and Ms. Shivani, Advs. for Petitioner; Mr. Rajesh Gupta and Mr. Harpreet Singh, Advs. for R-1 & 2 Mr. V. Balaji and Mr. Nizamuddin, Advs. for DOE
Case title: Hema Bajaj v. Rao Mehar Chand Saraswati Vidya Mandir School And Ors.
Case no.: W.P.(C) 12327/2021