- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 20TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 24119 OF 2024 (EDN-RES) BETWEEN: SRI RAMAKRISHNA VIDHYASHRAMA TRUST (R) GOPALAGOWDA LAYOUT SHIVAMOGGA SHIVAMOGA DISTRICT - 577434 REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING TRUSTEE SRI. D. M. DEVARAJA …PETITIONER (BY SRI. P.P. HEGDE, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR SRI. GANAPATHI BHAT, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. STATE OF KARNATAKA DEAPRTMENT OF EDUCATION VIKAS SOUDHA BENGALURU - 560001 REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY 2. THE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC INSTURCTIONS NEW PUBLIC OFFICE, NEAR RBI, NRUPATHUNGA ROAD AMBEDKAR VEEDHI SAMPANGI RAMA NAGARA BENGALURU - 560 001 3. DEPUTY DIRECTOR (ADMINISTRATION) DEPARTMENT OFPUBLIC INSTRUCTION Digitally signed by CHANDANA B M Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 B H ROAD, SHIVAMOGGA SHIVAMOGGA DISRICT - 577 201 4. BLOCK EDUCATION OFFICER DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION OFFICE OF THE BLOCK EDUCATION OFFICER HOSANAGARA, HOSANAGARA TALUK SHIVAMOGGA DISTRICT 577401 …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. V.G. BHANUPRAKASH, AAG A/W SRI. MANJUNATH K., HCGP) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO DIRECT R2 AND R4 TO CONSIDER THE REPRESENTATION DTD 22.07.24 VIDE ANNEXURE-A WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAY AND ETC., THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR ORAL ORDER In this petition, petitioner seeks for the following reliefs: "(1) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other Writ, or Order and direct respondents No.2 to 4 to consider the representation dated: 22-07-2024 vide Annexure-A without any further delay and (2) Set-aside / quash the notice dated: 05-07-2024 bearing G2Anu.Shale.Ho/36/2024 (vide Annexure - B) and hand written report dated: 06-08-2024 (vide Annexure-H), (3) to pass any such other orders or directions as this Hon'ble court deems fit to pass in the facts and - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 circumstances of the case in the interest of justice and equity." 2. A perusal of the material on record will indicate that the petitioner established and has been running a school under the name and style 'Sri Ramakrishna Vidyalaya School' at Hosanagar, Shivamogga District since 1999. After obtaining necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the respondents-State, the petitioner obtained affiliation for CBSE with the CBSE Board in the year 2020, which permitted the petitioner to run classes in the CBSE Board also. Subsequently, respondent No.3 issued a show- cause notice dated 05.07.2024 calling upon the petitioner to show cause as to why the name of the petitioner's school should not be removed from the recognized school list. The proposed action was premised on the ground that having obtained affiliation with the CBSE Board, the petitioner is not entitled to run classes under both the CBSE and SSLC Boards, in view of the CBSE bye-laws, the relevant CBSE Notification and also the Circular dated 07.09.2022 issued by the State Government. Aggrieved by the impugned show-cause notice and seeking other reliefs, petitioner is before this Court by way of the present petition. - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 3. Heard learned Senior counsel for the petitioner and learned AAG for the respondents and perused the material on record. 4. By order dated 04.09.2024, this Court passed the following order:- "Learned AGA accepts notice for respondents. Copies to be served. Re-list on 19.09.2024. In the meanwhile, there shall be an interim order of stay of Annexure-B and Annexure-H as prayed for by the petitioner in the petition till the next date of hearing. Liberty is reserved in favour of respondents to seek vacation / modification of this order." 5. Learned Senior counsel for the petitioner submits that having regard to the fact that the petitioner had obtained CBSE affiliation in the year 2020, the subsequent Memorandum dated 07.09.2022 would not be applicable to the petitioner's school since the said Memorandum would be prospective and not retrospective and would not apply to the petitioner's school. It is also submitted that in the event the petitioner was found to be violative of any of the CBSE Board Circular, Notification, regulation etc,. it is for the CBSE Board which had actually against the petitioner and the - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 absence of any provision in the Karnataka Education Act or the Rules made under, the respondents did not have jurisdiction or authority of law to treat the petitioner's school as an unrecognized Institution and consequently, the impugned show-cause notice dated 05.07.2024 is illegal and arbitrary and deserves to be quashed. 5.1 Learned Senior counsel for the petitioner further submits that the petitioner would run the classes under the SSLC Board as well as CBSE Board without causing any inconvenience or hardship and the students are studying independently and separately under both the Boards without causing inconvenience and in accordance with law. 6. Per contra, learned AAG for the respondents submits that as per the CBSE rules, regulations, bye-laws, guidelines, etc., and the Memorandum dated 07.09.2022, having obtained affiliation from the CBSE Board, the petitioner would not be entitled to run the classes for both CBSE and SSLC in the same building and there is no merit in the petition and the same is liable to be dismissed. - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 7. I have given my anxious consideration to the rival submissions made and perused the material on record. 8. A perusal of the Memorandum dated 07.09.2022 will indicate that the same has been issued on 11.09.2022, which is much later than the recognition, registration and permission granted in favour of the petitioner to run SSLC classes under the CBSE Board, which was in the year 1999. It is also relevant to state that much prior to the aforesaid Memorandum dated 07.09.2022 issued by the State Government, the petitioner has obtained affiliation from the CBSE Board in the year 2020. It follows therefrom that the said Memorandum produced at Annexure-R6 in the connected W.P.No.19848/2025 would be prospective in nature and not retrospective so as to effect the validity of affiliation granted in favour of the petitioner by the CBSE or the right of the petitioner to continue to run classes under the SSLC Board in its school premises. 9. Under these circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that the said Memorandum dated 07.09.2022 being evidently not applicable to the petitioner's school, the impugned - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 show-cause notice purporting to treat the petitioner's school as an unrecognized is clearly illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the provisions of the Karnataka Education Act and Rules made thereunder and the same deserves to be quashed. 10. Insofar as the contention urged by the learned AAG, the CBSE bye-laws, regulations, rules, notification, etc., prohibit a school from running classes under both the Boards by way of dual affiliation is concerned, it is needless to state in the absence of corresponding rules or regulations in the Karnataka Education Act or the Rules and the fact that the petitioner had obtained CBSE affiliation in the year 2020, much prior to Memorandum dated 07.09.2022, the respondents-State cannot place reliance upon the CBSE Notification, bye-laws, etc., for the purpose of treating the petitioner's school as unrecognized and the impugned show-cause notice deserves to be quashed on this ground also. 11. In the result, I pass the following: ORDER (i) Petition is hereby allowed. (ii) The impugned show cause notice at Annexure-B dated 05.07.2024 is hereby set aside. - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48046 WP No. 24119 of 2024 (iii) The Karnataka SSLC Board is directed to delete the name of the schools shown in the marks card of the students of the petitioner - School and replace the same with the name of the petitioner's school in all the SSLC marks card of all the students and issue fresh marks card within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. (iv) In view of the present order, the respondents are directed to renew the recognition of the petitioner's school for the academic year 2024-25 and 2025-26 by issuing necessary documents in this regard, subject to compliance of other statutory requirements. (v) Insofar as academic year 2026-27 is concerned, liberty is reserved in favour of the petitioner to file an application seeking renewal of the recognition, which shall be considered by the concerned respondents in accordance with law. Sd/- (S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR) JUDGE SJK/SRL List No.: 2 Sl No.: 1