Chandana Das (Malakar) v. State of West Bengal and Others
Background
This is a split decision, not a final judgment. Two teachers appointed by Khalsa Girls High School sought government approval of their appointments and salary benefits. The State rejected approval because the prescribed recruitment process had not been followed and sanctioned vacancies were unavailable at appointment. Their claim depended on whether the school had minority status and could select its own teachers despite the general management rules.
Decision Breakdown
This is a split decision, not a final judgment. The two judges issued opposing opinions, so neither proposed disposal can be presented as the Bench's final resolution. Justice Thakur regarded the school as a minority institution and would approve the appointments from the dates sanctioned vacancies became available, with corresponding salary benefits. Justice Banumathi considered the claimed status unproved by competent authority and the accepted special constitution inconsistent with the asserted exemption; she would dismiss the appeals. The judgment contains these two separate opinions but no common order resolving the disagreement. It therefore does not establish that the teachers finally won approval or that the State finally prevailed.
Lesson Learnt
A judgment containing opposite conclusions by the two judges must be read as a disagreement, rather than selecting either opinion as a binding result. On this source alone, the teachers' final entitlement and the resolution of the minority-status issue remain unsettled.