Ramesh Chandra Prasad vs State Of Jharkhand Though The ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 3852 Jhar

                 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
                                      WP(S) No. 2930 of 2022
            Ramesh Chandra Prasad......                                     ....... Petitioner.
                                           Versus
              1. State of Jharkhand though the Chief Secretary, Ranchi.
              2.  Secretary, Department of Road Construction, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi.
              3.  Secretary, Department of Building Construction, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi.
              4.  Joint Secretary, Department of Road Construction, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi.
              5.  Deputy Secretary, Department of Road Construction, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi.
              6.   Under Secretary, Department of Road Construction, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi.
                                                                            ..... Respondents.

            CORAM        :     HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANANDA SEN.
                                               ------

           For the petitioner(s):       Mr. Rohit Sinha, Advocate.
           For the State:               Mr. Om Prakash Tiwari, G.P-III
                                        Mr. Varun Prabhakar, AC to GP-III
                                               -----

05/21.09.2022: The only issue involved in this writ petition is as to whether the petitioner can be suspended with retrospective effect or not.

It is an admitted case that the petitioner was deemed to be suspended from 5.6.2020 and he was allowed to join on 28.11.2020. Again vide order dated 11.2.2022 i.e. Annexure-6 to the writ petition, the petitioner has been suspended w.e.f. 28.11.2020. Thus, the order dated 11.2.2022 contained in memo No. 475 is retrospective in nature.

The issue as to whether the suspension can be retrospective or not has been dealt with by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in WPS No. 4082 of 2018 vide detailed judgment dated 2.1.2019 by referring several provisions of Jharkhand Government Servant (CCA) Rules 2016 and the case of Satya Narayan Pd. Srivastava Vs. State of Bihar reported in 1978 BBCJ 208 holding that the suspension order cannot be given retrospective effect. In the aforesaid case, this Court quashed the part of the suspension order which makes the same retrospective. This case is also covered by the aforesaid judgment passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, which has settled the law.

Thus, considering the judgment passed in WPS No. 4082 of 2018 in which the issue has been settled, the part of the impugned order dated 11.2.2022 contained in memo No. 475 whereby the suspension has been given effect retrospectively w.e.f. 28.11.2020 is set aside. The petitioner will be deemed to be under suspension w.e.f. 11.2.2022.

It is admitted by the parties that the departmental charge-sheet has also been submitted to the petitioner and the departmental proceeding has been initiated.

It will be open to the respondent authority to take a decision as to whether the petitioner should be kept under suspension or not till the conclusion of the departmental proceeding. All consequential benefits after revocation of the prospective suspension order should follow.

       Anu/-CP2                                                         (ANANDA SEN, J.)