Chandigarh, March 1 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered a Gurugram-based school to pay Rs.34 lakh in compensation to a teacher who was illegally terminated in 2017. The bench of justice Tribhuvan Dahiya held that the school is undisputedly a private educational institution, not getting any grant-in-aid from the government, and accordingly, the contract of service between the teacher and the private educational institution management does not fall within the realm of public law and that it does not show that the terms of contract were regulated in terms of any statutory requirements. Accordingly, the teacher cannot be held entitled to reinstatement in service, but is entitled to monetary compensation instead, the court also ruled. The petitioner, Pawan Kumar, a mathematics teacher, was terminated on December 30, 2017. He had approached the educational tribunal, Gurugram, which in December 2023 directed his reinstatement. Challenging this order, Delhi Public School Ghaziabad Society (DPSG), Palam Vihar, moved the high court in 2024. Kumar was an employee of Chiranjiv Bharati School since July 1993, which was taken over by the DPSG Society in 2016. The school argued before the high court that after accepting the full and final settlement of three months' notice pay and other dues, and signing a declaration in May 2018 to that effect, the teacher was not entitled to challenge his termination before the tribunal, as he had willingly waived his right to do so by signing the declaration. On the other hand, the teacher had contended that the termination violated the terms of his contract. The teacher had submitted that payment of the three months' salary and remaining dues was made only after repeated requests and a delay of over six months. The teacher argued that this violation of the terms of the contract entitled him either to payment of damages or reinstatement. The court observed that at the time of termination, the school had neither paid the mandatory three months' salary nor given three months' advance notice to the teacher, as required under the contract of service. "This makes the termination illegal, being violative of the terms of the contract of service. The salary by way of cheques was finally given to him only on May 7, 2018.The violation of terms on the part of the society is writ large which cannot be ignored or explained away in this manner. Merely because, at the time of handing over the cheques of the remaining dues, the second respondent (teacher) was made to sign a printed declaration accepting the amount and indemnifying the society as well as its employees and directors from any harm, it cannot be used against him in subsequent litigation initiated for assertion of his rights. This declaration was not in derogation of the second respondent's right to challenge the termination being violative of the contract of service he entered into with the Society," the court held, rejecting the school's contention that at the time of receiving payment, he signed a document declaring that the termination was in compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract of service. The court said the society was in a "domineering position" vis-a-vis the teacher, and this is why he had little choice but to sign in order to receive his dues. The court further observed that there was nothing on record to indicate that the teacher intended to abandon his right to challenge the termination. Holding that the termination was in breach of contract of service and the teacher is entitled to compensation in lieu of reinstatement, the court said that the compensation is to be accessed as per laid down principles in different judicial pronouncements by the courts. Taking his last drawn gross monthly salary as Rs.57,000, the court awarded compensation equivalent to five years' salary and allowances, amounting to Rs.34.2 lakh. The school has been directed to pay the amount with interest at six per cent per annum from the date of termination till actual payment within a period of two weeks. Thereafter, the amount of compensation will carry interest at nine per cent per annum until full payment is made, the court said....