Army Public Schools Not 'State' Under Article 12: J&K High Court Decision

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court ruled that Army Public Schools (APS) and the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) are not considered "State" under Article 12 of the Indian Constitution. This decision arose from a petition filed by four teachers challenging their termination at APS Udhampur. They argued APS engaged in public duties, making the writ petition maintainable under Article 226.

Key Legal Issues
The court addressed three critical questions:

1. Whether AWES qualifies as "State" under Article 12.
2. Whether disputes arising from private employment contracts can be enforced via writ jurisdiction.
3. The validity of the teachers' termination.

Court’s Observations
The court referred to the Supreme Court's judgment in Army Welfare Education Society vs. Sunil Kumar Sharma (2024), ruling that AWES is not an instrumentality of the State. Despite APS's public function in education, its employment contracts fall under private law. As such, disputes involving private contracts cannot be adjudicated through writ jurisdiction under Article 226, unless a statutory element is involved. The court emphasized that any remedy for the teachers lies in appropriate legal forums, not through writ jurisdiction.

Conclusion
The petition was dismissed, with the court stating that while APS provides a public service, the teachers’ employment relationship is purely contractual. The court left open the option for the petitioners to pursue remedies through other legal avenues.

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