Ratinder Pal Singh Vs Directorate of Education and Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Ratinder Pal Singh Vs Directorate of Education and Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Leave granted to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to file an appeal before the Delhi School Tribunal (DST); directions issued that the appeal be filed on or before 25th May, 2026, that counsel for Respondents 2 to 5 ensure a reply within one week of service, that the DST decide the appeal expeditiously, and that the period spent in these proceedings be excluded for limitation purposes (via an application under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 before the DST).

Issue for consideration

Whether the Petitioner should be granted leave to withdraw W.P.(C) 2995/2023 — which challenged his suspension order dated 24th September, 2023 — with liberty to challenge his subsequent termination from service before the Delhi School Tribunal (DST). +1 more

Court's answer

The Court allowed the Petitioner's application (CM APPL. 32131/2026) seeking withdrawal of the writ petition, on the grounds and reasons stated therein, with liberty to avail the remedy before the DST.

Ratio / Principle

Direction (iv): the period spent in prosecuting the present proceedings shall be excluded for the purposes of limitation; the Petitioner is at liberty to seek such relief from the DST by an appropriate application under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

Key takeaways

The petition, along with pending applications, was disposed of with the accompanying directions: (i) appeal to be filed before the DST on or before 25th May, 2026; (ii) counsel for Respondents 2 to 5 undertook to ensure a reply is filed within one week of service; (iii) the DST was requested to decide the appeal expeditiously; and (iv) exclusion of the period spent herein for limitation purposes.ratio¶¶23

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Delhi (Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjeev Narula, J) disposed of W.P.(C) 2995/2023 on 13th May, 2026 by allowing the Petitioner's application for withdrawal. The writ petition had challenged the order dated 24th September, 2023 placing the Petitioner under suspension pending disciplinary proceedings; during its pendency the Petitioner was terminated from service, rendering the termination challengeable before the Delhi School Tribunal ('DST'). Directions issued: (i) the Petitioner to file an appeal before the DST on or before 25th May, 2026; (ii) counsel for Respondents 2 to 5 (Mr. Abinash Kumar Mishra) undertook to ensure a reply within one week of service; (iii) the DST requested to decide the appeal expeditiously; and (iv) the period spent prosecuting the present proceedings to be excluded for limitation purposes, for which the Petitioner may apply to the DST under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963.

$~29

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- W.P.(C) 2995/2023 & CM APPLs. 11715/2023, 19192/2023, 30227/2023, 21608-21609/2024

RATINDER PAL SINGH .....Petitioner

Through: Appearance not given.

versus

DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION AND ORS .....Respondents Through: Mr. Abinash Kumar Mishra, Advocate for R-2 to 5.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA

CM APPL. 32131/2026 (for withdrawal of writ petition)

The present petition challenges order dated 24th September, 2023, whereby the Petitioner was placed under suspension pending disciplinary proceedings. During the pendency of the present petition, the Petitioner has since been terminated from service.

In view of the aforesaid development, the order of termination is now amenable to challenge before the Delhi School Tribunal.¹ Accordingly, by way of the present application, the Petitioner seeks leave to withdraw the present petition with liberty to avail the aforesaid remedy.

For the grounds and reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed.

1 “DST”

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 14/05/2026 at 12:36:24

W.P.(C) 2995/2023

In view of the above, the petition is disposed of with the following directions:

(i) The Petitioner shall file an appeal before the DST on or before 25^th May, 2026;

(ii) Upon such appeal being filed, Mr. Abinash K. Mishra, counsel for the Respondents, undertakes to ensure that a reply thereto is filed within a period of one week from the date of service;

(iii) Considering that this petition has remained pending for some time, the DST is requested to decide the appeal expeditiously;

(iv) The period spent in prosecuting the present proceedings shall be excluded for the purposes of limitation. The Petitioner is at liberty to file an appropriate application under Section 14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 before the DST to seek such a relief.

With the above directions, the present petition, along with the pending applications, if any, is disposed of.

SANJEEV NARULA, J

MAY 13, 2026 as

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 14/05/2026 at 12:36:24