Judgment :- 1. The petitioner is a full-time menial servant working in the Naduvattom High School. By Ext. P-2 proceedings of the District Educational Officer, Alleppey, dated 22nd November 1974, certain charges were framed against him, and he was placed under suspension pending enquiry with immediate effect. H has rushed up to this Court to quash Ext. P-2 proceedings on the ground that the educational authorities have no jurisdiction either to take disciplinary action against him or to place him under suspension pending enquiry. 2. Counsel for the petitioner argued this matter with great vehemence and strenuousness. But we are unable to see our way to agree with his submissions. A Full Bench of this Court in Assistant Educational Officer v. Mamoo 1968 KLT. 556 bad occasion to point out with respect to provisions of S.12 of the Kerala Education Act that it did not confer any right on the educational authorities to take disciplinary action against the teachers of private aided institutions, and that in the absence of any statutory power conferred by the section itself such a power of disciplinary action cannot be arrogated to themselves by the educational authorities under the rules framed under the provisions of the statute. Therefore it was held that R.67, 75 and 77 of Chapter XIV (A) travelled beyond the provisions of S.12 of the Act in so far as they conferred the right of disciplinary action on educational authorities, and were declared to that extent to be ultra vires. In order to remedy this situation S.12A was introduced in the Act. That section provides: 'Disciplinary powers of Government over teachers of aided schools: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in S.11 or S.12 and subject to such rules as my be prescribed, the Government or such officer not below the rank of an Educational Officer, as may be authorised by the Government in this behalf, shall have power to take disciplinary proceedings against a teacher of an aided school and to impose upon him all or any of the penalties specified in the rules made under this Act. (2) The Government or the officer authorised under sub-section (1), as the case may be, may suspend a teacher of an aided school when any disciplinary proceedings is proposed to be taken against him under that sub-section or when such disciplinary proceedings are pending: Provided that (a) before exercising the powers under sub-section (1) the Government or the authorised officer as the case may be, may intimate the manager regarding the circumstances requiring disciplinary action against the teacher concerned and give the manager a reasonable opportunity of taking disciplinary action; and (b) if the manager fails to take appropriate action it shall be open to the Government or the authorised officer to take appropriate disciplinary action against the teacher concerned." It will be seen that under this section by a direct statutory provision the right to take disciplinary action against teaching staff was conferred on the Government. 3. A different procedure was, however, adopted in respect of non-teaching staff. S.9 (2) of the Act provides that it shall be competent for the Government to prescribe, inter alia, the conditions of service of non-teaching staff. Prescribed means prescribed by Rules. We may here emphasise that the expression 'conditions of service' cover a wide range as was explained by the Privy Council in N.W. F. Province v. Suraj Narain AIR. 1949 P. C. 112 which was approved by the Supreme Court in State of U.P. v. Babu Ram AIR. 1961 S. C. 751. These decisions and also a later decision of the Supreme Court in State of M P. and others v. Shardul Singh 1970 (1) S C. C. 108 have made it clear that conditions of service include all matters from appointment to termination and even beyond, and relate to matters pertaining to pension. Keeping this principle in view we may turn to S.36 which enables the Government to frame rules to carry into effect the provisions of this Act. Under S.37, the rules are to be laid before the Legislative Assembly. Keeping this principle in view we may turn to S.36 which enables the Government to frame rules to carry into effect the provisions of this Act. Under S.37, the rules are to be laid before the Legislative Assembly. In accordance with the provisions of the rule framing section Chapter XXIV (B) of R.7 provides: "The rules regarding appointment, probation, transfer from one educational agency to another educational agency or transfer under the same educational agency, discipline, maintenance of service records, confirmation, promotion, seniority, and maintenance of seniority list contained in Chapter XIV (A) and the Conduct Rules in Chapter XIV (C)" applicable to teachers of aided schools shall mutatis mutandis apply to the non-teaching staff in aided schools subject to the following modifications. (a) No member of the non-teaching staff shall be placed under suspension by the Manager for a continuous period exceeding one month without the previous sanction of the Educational Officer. (b) The authority which may impose the penalty of withholding increments or promotion or reduction to a lower stage in a time scale shall be the Manager who shall consult the Headmaster before imposing the penalty. The Educational Officer shall also be informed of the imposition of the penalty. (c) The penalty of reduction to a lower rank in the seniority list or to a lower post may be imposed by the manager who shall consult the Headmaster before imposing the penalty The Educational Officer shall also be informed of the imposing of the penalty. (d) The penalty of recovery from pay of the whole or pan of any pecuniary loss caused to the Government or the School by negligence or breach of orders shall he imposed by the Educational Officer. (e) The penalty of removal or dismissal from service can be imposed by the Manager only with sanction of the Educational Officer". It will be noticed that R.7 makes applicable to non-teaching staff the provisions regarding discipline etc. applicable to members of the teaching staff. One such provision applicable to members of the teaching staff is R.75A of Chapter XIV(A). The said provision deals with disciplinary powers of the Government. It will be noticed that R.7 makes applicable to non-teaching staff the provisions regarding discipline etc. applicable to members of the teaching staff. One such provision applicable to members of the teaching staff is R.75A of Chapter XIV(A). The said provision deals with disciplinary powers of the Government. The rule reads as follows: "Disciplinary powers of the Government or the authorised officer: Notwithstanding anything contained in R.75, if a Manager does not initiate appropriate action against the teacher, within a month from the date of intimation as specified in S 12(A) or after initiation of the disciplinary proceedings he is not completing the disciplinary proceedings within two months from the date of initiation of the disciplinary action, then the Government or the authorised officer as the case may be shall take appropriate disciplinary action against the teacher concerned. But in extraordinary cases for reasons to be recorded in writing the Director may on the application of the manager extend the time allowed to the manager to complete the disciplinary action. The procedure prescribed in R.75 shall mutatis mutandis be followed by the Government or the prescribed authority in the matter of imposing major penalties." It has been ruled recently by the Supreme Court in the Oil and Natural Gas Commission's case AIR. 1975 SC. 1331 that what can be done under the provisions of a statute can be done equally efficaciously under the provisions of a statutory rule Therefore, while the right of disciplinary action against teaching staff has been provided for directly by the statutory provisions, namely, S.12A of the Act, the same right in respect of non-teaching staff has been regulated by the provisions of S.9 read with the statutory rules that we have referred to earlier In Khem Chand v. Union of India AIR. 1963 SC. 687 at 691 the Supreme Court observes: "Nobody can seriously doubt the importance and necessity of proper disciplinary action being taken against Government servants for inefficiency dishonesty or other suitable reasons. Such action is certainly against the immediate interests of the Government servant concerned; but is absolutely necessary in the interests of the general public for serving whose interests the Government machinery exists and functions. Such action is certainly against the immediate interests of the Government servant concerned; but is absolutely necessary in the interests of the general public for serving whose interests the Government machinery exists and functions. Suspension of a Government servant pending an enquiry is necessary part of the procedure for taking disciplinary action against him." In the light of these provisions we get the following position as a combined result of the operation of the sections and the rules. The right of taking disciplinary action against the teaching staff is provided by S.12 and the right of placing the teaching staff under suspension pending enquiry is provided for by Chapter XIV (A), R.67 The same result is achieved by a different process in regard to the non-teaching staff, namely, by the provisions of S 9(2), Chapter XXIV(B), R.7, and Chapter XIV (A) R.67 and 75A. What has been achieved by the provisions of the statute is, in our view, equally effectively achieved by the provisions of the statutory rule. The counsel for the petitioner argued that even under the provisions of rules the right of suspension has been conferred only upon the Manager and not upon the educational authorities. But by reason of R.75 A of Chapter XIV (A) we have little doubt that were the Manager fails or refuses to act initiating disciplinary action against a teacher the power to start disciplinary action is available to the educational authorities, and under the provisions of Chapter XXIV (B), R.7 this power becomes available in respect of the non-teaching staff 4. Our attention was called to the decision of our learned brother Poti, J. in Krishnankutty Nair v. Director of 'Public Instruction 1972 KLT. 204. With respect we are unable to agree with the conclusion or with the reasoning of the learned Judge. The learned judge stated: "5. It is true that R.7 of Chapter XXIV (B) provides that the rules relating to discipline in regard to the teachers of aided schools will mutatis mutandis apply to non-teaching staff. But if there is no power conferred by the statute, such power cannot be conferred by the rules. The learned judge stated: "5. It is true that R.7 of Chapter XXIV (B) provides that the rules relating to discipline in regard to the teachers of aided schools will mutatis mutandis apply to non-teaching staff. But if there is no power conferred by the statute, such power cannot be conferred by the rules. Therefore the question is whether in the Kerala Education Act there is power to make rules vesting disciplinary control of the non-teaching staff in the Government or any Educational Officer authorised in that behalf, and for that matter keeping under suspension a member of a non-teaching staff." Having posed the above question the learned judge noticed S.9 of the Act and then observed: "A provision enabling Government to prescribe such conditions of service does not amount to a provision vesting Government with power to take upon itself authority to suspend or dismiss a person". With respect we are unable to agree with this observation of the learned Judge. We have sketched the gamut of the expression'conditions of service, as explained in the decisions of the Privy Council and of the Supreme Court. We have noticed the decision of the Supreme Court in AIR. 1963 SC. 687 which has held that suspension pending enquiry is really part of the disciplinary proceedings. In the light of these principles and decisions, we have little hesitation to find that the power of suspension pending enquiry is reposed in the educational authorities under the provisions noticed earlier. 5. In the circumstances, Ext. P2 was properly issued, and we see no ground to quash the same. We dismiss this writ petition, but with no order as to costs. Dismissed.