Usha Saini vs Managing Committee, Army Public ...
2014 Latest Caselaw 7058 Del

*     IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

+     W.P.(C) 8703/2014 and CM APPL. 20023/2014 (stay)



                                                   Decided on: 22.12.2014
IN THE MATTER OF:
USHA SAINI                                             .. Petitioner
                        Through: Mr. Rakesh Khanna, Senior Advocate
                        with Mr. S.N. Gupta, Advocate

                        versus

MANAGING COMMITTEE, ARMY PUBLIC SCHOOL AND ANR.. Respondents

Through: Mr. Ankur Chibber, Adv.for R-1/School.

Ms. Nidhi Raman, Advocate for R-2/DOE.

CORAM HON'BLE MS.JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI

HIMA KOHLI, J.(Oral)

1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner praying inter

alia for issuing a writ of mandamus for declaring as illegal, the action of

the respondent No.1/School in continuing her under suspension on the

basis of an order dated 22.09.2014. Further, the petitioner seeks

directions to the respondent No.1/School to permit her to resume her

duties as the Officiating Principal, with immediate effect.

2. On the last date of hearing, Mr. Khanna, learned Senior Advocate

appearing for the petitioner had drawn the attention of the Court to the

order dated 23.09.2014, passed by the Chairman of the respondent

No.1/School, calling upon the petitioner to present herself in the School

from 8 AM to 12 PM, during the period of her suspension and mark her

attendance on a daily basis and he had stated that the aforesaid

direction flies in the face of the observations made by the respondent

No.1/School in the suspension order dated 22.09.2014, whereunder it

was stated that since the petitioner was the Officiating Principal of the

School and in that capacity she had the power to exert influence over

the witnesses during the disciplinary proceedings and tamper with the

documentary evidence, she was being suspended for a period of six

months or till completion of the disciplinary proceedings, whichever is

earlier. It was argued that if the respondent No.1/School was of the

opinion that the petitioner had to be suspended on the ground that she

would be in a position to influence the witnesses or interfere with the

disciplinary proceedings, then her daily presence in the School would

defeat the very object of placing her under suspension.

3. In view of the aforesaid plea, Mr. Chhibber, learned counsel for the

respondent No.1/School was directed to obtain instructions from his

clients.

4. Today, Mr. Chhibber informs the court that the respondent

No.1/School shall not insist on implementing the order dated

23.09.2014, by calling upon the petitioner to attend the School on a

daily basis for a fixed time. Instead, he requests that the petitioner may

be directed to mark her attendance off and on and give an undertaking

to the School that during the period of suspension, she would not seek

gainful employment elsewhere. He also seeks directions to the

petitioner for co-operating in the disciplinary proceedings and requests

that she be directed not to leave the station without prior intimation to

the School.

5. Counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner has always

been co-operating in the disciplinary proceedings. He submits that the

respondent No.1/School has issued two charge-sheets to the petitioner,

the first one is dated 22.09.2014 and the second one is dated

22.11.2014 and the petitioner had promptly replied to both the charge-

sheets, but the delay in taking the matter further is attributable to the

School Management. He further states that the petitioner does not have

any objection to marking her attendance in the School on a monthly

basis and she shall give prior intimation to the School in case she

proposes to go out of station and further, she shall file an undertaking

with the School, as suggested above.

6. In view of the aforesaid submission made by the counsels for the

parties and having regard to the fact that the disciplinary proceedings

are at an initial stage inasmuch as the respondent No.1/School has not

taken a final view on the replies submitted by the petitioner to both the

charge-sheets, at this stage, the Court is not inclined to entertain the

first relief prayed for in the petition.

7. Mr. Khanna, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioner

states that for the first relief, the petitioner may be permitted to pursue

her remedies in W.P.(C) 304/2008, a petition filed by her against the

School for seeking promotion, whereunder a status quo order passed by

the court is operating in her favour.

8. In view of the aforesaid submission made by the counsels for the

parties, the present petition is disposed of by quashing the order dated

23.09.2014 (Annexure D) and granting permission to the petitioner to

mark her attendance in the respondent No.1/School once a month at the

time of collecting her subsistence allowance. When the petitioner goes

to the School to collect her subsistence allowance in the month of

January 2015, she shall give in writing that she is not gainfully employed

elsewhere and in case of any change of circumstances, shall inform the

School in writing. Further, in the event she wishes to leave for out of

station, she shall give prior intimation in writing to the respondent

No.1/School and furnish the relevant details of her destination and

duration of travel.

9. As the Court is informed that the petitioner has already submitted

her replies to both the charge-sheets issued by the respondent

No.1/School, the School Management is directed to take an expeditious

decision on the show cause notices and communicate the same to the

petitioner in writing, within one week from today.

10. The petition is disposed of alongwith the pending application with

liberty granted to the petitioner to seek appropriate relief with respect to

prayer (a) in the aforecited writ petition, as may be permissible in law.

                                                     (HIMA KOHLI)
DECEMBER 22, 2014                                       JUDGE
rkb/mk