Correspondent, St. Michael vs V.N. Karpaga Mary & Ors

The Supreme Court held that the Tamil Nadu Government Order dated 16.9.1994, which raised the qualifications for teachers, could not be applied retrospectively to terminate the services of a teacher who was appointed lawfully in 1977. The Court affirmed the High Court's ruling that the appellant institution's action was erroneous and that the teacher's qualifications at the time of appointment were sufficient. The Court directed that the teacher be reinstated with back wages, establishing that retrospective application of qualification criteria is impermissible under the Tamil Nadu Recognised Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 1973.