Suspension under Section 8(4) DSEA lapses automatically if Director’s approval is not obtained within fifteen days.

The matter was referred to a Full Bench by a Single Judge of the Delhi High Court on March 28, 2026, to resolve a conflict between two Division Bench decisions: Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth v. Director of Education and Delhi Public School Dwarka v. Sarika Prasad.

The dispute centered on the interpretation of Section 8(4) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, specifically regarding the status of an employee's suspension when the Director of Education fails to grant approval within the statutory 15-day period.

Whether a suspension order passed under the first proviso to Section 8(4) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, which has lapsed due to the expiry of 15 days without approval, can be revived by a subsequent approval granted by the Director of Education.

Section 8(4) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, which mandates that while a managing committee may suspend an employee for gross misconduct, such suspension shall not remain in force for more than 15 days unless approved by the Director.

Full Bench precedent in Delhi Public School v. Director of Education (2003), which established that suspension lapses by operation of law if no decision is taken within 15 days.

Supreme Court’s ruling in Mrs. Y. Theclamma v. UOI (1987), which held that once a suspension lapses under the second proviso to Section 8(4), any fresh suspension requires a new order and prior approval.

The Court rejected the reasoning in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, which had suggested that subsequent approval could "revive" a lapsed suspension or that a new order would be a mere "ministerial act".

The Court reasoned that the second proviso to Section 8(4) is categorical: suspension ends by efflux of time if not approved within 15 days.

The Court emphasized that it is impossible to "breathe life into a dead body"; once the suspension lapses, the employee is legally entitled to work.

Any continued suspension without a fresh order and fresh approval is illegal and "in the teeth of the statute".

The Court clarified that if the management still necessitates a suspension after the mistake, it must issue a fresh order following the standard procedure for prior approval under the main provision of Section 8(4).

A later approval by the Director of Education cannot revive the lapsed suspension.

The Court expressed its agreement with Sarika Prasad and formally disagreed with the view in Sharda Devi Sanskrit Vidyapeeth.

The writ petition was directed to be listed before the concerned Bench for further proceedings on July 31, 2026.