The Division Bench held that the Municipality’s approval is not a statutory requirement for introducing co-education and that the power rests exclusively with the Director of Education under Rule 12 of Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules. It ordered status quo until the Single Bench decides the writ petition on merits.
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Ernakulam: The Kerala High Court has set aside a Single Bench judgment that directed the Erattupetta Municipality Secretary to approve a co-education scheme at the Muslim Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Erattupetta, and remanded the matter for fresh consideration on merits. [K.A. Muhammed Ashraf & Anr. v. Muslim Girls’ Higher Secondary School & Ors.]
A Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. heard the writ appeal, W.A. No. 1118 of 2026.
The Single Bench Order
The school’s management had challenged a government circular requiring local body approval to introduce co-education in single-gender schools, arguing that Clause (4) of the circular, which mandates that approval, is arbitrary and unenforceable because neither the Kerala Municipality Act nor the Kerala Education Rules (KER) support it. An earlier writ petition by the school had been disposed of with a direction to the Municipality Secretary to consider its application, and the school moved the Single Bench when that direction was not complied with.
The Single Bench directed the Municipality Secretary to approve the scheme within three days, failing which the management could proceed with the conversion without approval.
The Appeal And The Contentions
The appeal was filed by the manager of a nearby boys’ school and by K.A. Muhammed Ashraf, who had separately challenged the co-education plan in W.P.(C) No. 13677 of 2026. Teachers of nearby schools later impleaded themselves, contending that the transfer of students from their schools to the girls’ school would affect their divisions.
The appellants contended that the writ petition was barred because the school manager had already filed another petition in which the Municipality was directed to consider approval, and that the requirements of Rule 12 of Chapter VI of KER were not met. The school countered that the prayers in the two petitions were entirely different, so constructive res judicata did not apply. The Government Pleader submitted that the Director of General Education had since issued an order sanctioning co-education in the school, and the Municipality’s standing counsel said a No Objection Certificate had been issued following the Single Bench’s direction.
No Statutory Force For The Circular
The Division Bench held that Rule 12 requires the Director of General Education to consider several matters before permitting co-education, and that these must be decided on merits, taking into account the contentions of the first appellant. It observed:
“The only provision to introduce co-education is provided under Rule 12 of Chapter VI of the KER, which confers power exclusively with the Director of Education.”
On the circular relied on by the school’s opponents, the Bench said:
“So, Ext.P3 circular has no statutory force.”
Status Quo And Remand
Noting that 28 boy students had already been admitted from the fifth to the tenth standard, the Court directed that the status quo in the school be continued until the writ petition is decided on merits. It set aside the Single Bench judgment, remanded the writ petition for fresh consideration, and permitted the appellants and the impleaded teachers to move to implead themselves in the writ petition.
Case Details: K.A. Muhammed Ashraf & Anr. v. Muslim Girls’ Higher Secondary School & Ors., W.A. No. 1118 of 2026, Kerala High Court, Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S.
Appearances: For the appellants, K.A. Manzoor Ali and Dr. George Abraham. For the respondents, Senior Advocate George Poonthottam with Nisha George and A.L. Navaneeth Krishnan; Sunil V. Mohammed, Standing Counsel for the Erattupetta Municipality; and M. Ajay and Reeha Khader K., Senior Government Pleader.