In siyaram education society v. Chhaya d/o baliram dhave & ors., 2026 insc 871, the hon’ble supreme court held that a writ petition under article 226 of the constitution is maintainable against a private unaided educational institution where the right sought to be enforced flows from a statute and the statute casts a statutory duty upon the institution having a public element.
The court clarified that although a writ petition against a private unaided institution is ordinarily not maintainable where the relief merely seeks enforcement of a contractual right having no public element, the position is different where the obligation sought to be enforced is statutory. The reason is simple: article 226 empowers the high courts to issue writs to any person or authority and such writs are not confined to the state, its instrumentalities or an ‘authority’ falling within article 12. Imparting education by an institution recognized under a statute is akin to performing a public duty; therefore, teaching activity has a direct nexus with such public duty and, where the rights of teaching staff flow from a statute, a writ petition would lie for enforcement of those rights.
The court further held that where there is a statutory mandate requiring a private unaided educational institution to pay its teaching staff salary at a prescribed rate, a writ of mandamus would lie even against such private unaided institution for enforcement of the statutory obligation. In the case before it, the maharashtra employees of private schools (conditions of service) rules, 1981 prescribed scales of pay for teachers employed in private unaided schools, and the governing statute cast a corresponding obligation upon the institutions.
The supreme court also held that non-laying of the amended rules before the legislature does not, by itself, render the rules inoperative, where the statutory provision does not require legislative approval as a condition precedent for their operation. The amended rules therefore operated from the date of their notification unless modified or annulled in accordance with the statutory procedure. Consequently, the supreme court upheld the maintainability of the writ petitions.
