Anup Kumar vs The State Of Bihar
2022 Latest Caselaw 683 Patna

         IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                   Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.13370 of 2019
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1. Anup Kumar, S/o Munna Prasad, Resident of Village- Mauje, P.S. Raxaul, Dist.- East Champaran.

2. Dipak Kumar, S/o Sighhasan Prasad, Resident of Village- Chhitarchak, P.S.-

Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

3. Kusum Kumari, D/o Ishwar Chandra Prasad, W/o Om Prakash Gupta, Resident of Mohalla- Navjivan College, P.S.- Hajipur, Dist.- Vaishali.

4. Jaya Kumari, D/o Shiv Kumar Singh, W/o Nitin Kumar, Resident of Village-

Sabalpur, P.S.- Sonepur,Dist.- Saran.

5. Neeta Kumari, D/oj Baleshwar Rai, W/o Shiv Charan Paswan, Resident of Village- Mahabal, P.S.- Motipur, Dist.- Muzaffarpur.

6. Pinki Kumari, D/o Rama Prasad Rai, W/o Amod Gope, Resident of Village-

Najarmira, P.S.- Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

7. Samta Kumari, D/o Baidyanath Prasad Singh, W/o Sudhir Kumar, Resident of Village- Rahar Diyara, P.S.- Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

8. Vickey Kumar, S/o Kamal Kant Rai, Resident of Village- Pakaulia, P.S.-

Autar Nagar, Dist.- Saran.

9. Guriya Kumari, D/o Ram Binod Sah, W/o Manoranjan Sah, Resident of Village- Sanchi Patti Viratnagar, P.S.- Hajipur, Dist.- Vaishali.

10. Anees Ahmad, S/o Abulais Mufti, Resident of Mohalla- Mufti Tola, P.S.-

Hajipur, Dist.-Vaishali.

11. Md. Anwar Ali, S/o Abulwafa Mufti, Resident of Mohalla Nakhasd, P.S.-

Hajipur, Dist.- Vaishali.

12. Raushan Khatoon, D/o Md. Musli, W/o Md. Nasim, Resident of Mohalla-

Mufti Nakhas, P.S.- Hajipur, Dist.- Vaishali.

13. Md. Aslam Ansari, S/o Md. Bashir Ansari, Resident of Village- Shyampur Beno, P.S.- Bhagwanpur, Dist.Vaishali.

14. Zeba Tabassum, D/o Md. Ayub, W/o Md. Seraj Ahmad, Resident of Village-

Miyan Bairo, P.S.- Bhagwanpur, Dist.-Vaishali.

15. Seraj Ahmad, S/o Abdur Rashid, Resident of Village- Miyan Bairo, P.S.-

Bhagwanpur, Dist.- Vaishali.

16. Anita Kumari, D/o Jaimangal Paswan, W/o Sanjiv Kumar, Resident of Village- Kavaiya, P.S.- Ghorasan, Dist.- East Champaran. Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

17. Naveen Kumar Singh, S/o Late Rabindra Prasad Singh, Resident of Village-

Akilpur Pahadi Chak, P.S.- Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

18. Md. Basheer, S/o Md. Abbas, Resident of Village- Gangajal Tola, P.S. Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

19. Nasrin Parween, D/o Nishar Ahmad, Resident of Village- Magar Hatta Masjid Chowk, P.S.- Hajipur, Dist.- Vaishali.

20. Tabassum Bani, D/o Nishar Ahmad, W/o Md. Aftab, Resident of Village-

Purvi Nungola, P.S.- Ganga Bridge, Dist.- Vaishali.

21. Shiv Shankar Kumar, S/o Sonphi Lal Rai, Resident of Village- Terahrasia, P.S. Ganga Bridge, Dist.- Vaishali.

22. Ranjana Kumari, D/o Shaetrughan Prasad, W/o Ravi Prakash, Resident of Mohalla- Mednimal Mahajan Toli, P.S.- Hajipur, Dist.- Vaishali.

23. Anu Kumari, D/o Rameshwar Prasad Shah, W/o Nawal Kumar, Resident of Village- Shitalpur, P.S.- Dighwada, Dist.- Saran.

24. Ershad Alam, S/o Sikandar Ali, Resident of Village- Bela, P.S.- Dariyarpur, Dist.-Saran.

25. Md. Gayasuddin, S/o Md. Amiruddin, Resident of Village- Jhitkahi, P.S.-

Dhaka, Dist.- East Champaran.

26. Zainab Khatoon, W/o Md. Rojid, Resident of Village- Narayanpur, P.S.-

Garkha, Dist.- Saran.

27. Binod Kumar, S/o Ramji Rai, Resident of Village- Nazarmira, P.S.- Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Department of Education, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.

2. The Principal Secretary, General Administration Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.

3. The Bihar School Examination Board through its Chairman, Budh Marg, Patna.

4. The Secretary, Bihar School Examination Board, Budh Marg, Patna.

5. The District Magistrate, Saran.

6. The District Education Officer, Saran.

7. The District Programme Officer(Establishment), Saran.

8. The Block Education Officer, Parsa, Dist.- Saran. Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

9. The Block Education Officer, Sonepur, Dist.- Saran.

10. The Block Education Officer, Dariyapur, Dist.- Saran.

11. The A.D.G. of Police, Vigilance Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.

12. The Police Inspector, Vigilance Enquiry Branch, Saran.

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mukesh Kumar Jha, Adv.

Mr. Vipin Kumar, Adv.

For the Respondent/s : Mr. Girijish Kumar, Adv.

Mr. Gyan Shankar, Adv.

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 28-01-2022

Reg. I.A. Nos. 1 of 2019, 2 of 2020 and

3 of 2021 and C.W.J.C. No. 13370 of 2019:

Heard the counsel for the parties.

2. The petitioners, who are Niyojit Teachers

in the District of Saran, have sought quashing of Letter

Nos. 316, 318 and 325, contained in Annexure-6 series

to the writ petition, issued by the Police Inspector-Cum-

Assistant Investigating Officer, Vigilance, Patna observing

that their certificates have been found to be forged and

fabricated in course of Vigilance enquiry as well as for a

direction to the Bihar School Examination Board (in short Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

the BSEB) to produce the tabulation register of TET

Examination, 2011 with regard to them. There is a

further prayer for a direction to resume payment of salary

to the petitioners who have been regularly working on

their posts.

3. During the pendency of this writ petition,

the appointment of petitioner Nos. 21, 22 and 23 (Shiv

Shankar Kumar, Ranjana Kumari and Anu Kumari) have

been terminated.

4. It is the case of the petitioners that they

had appeared in the Bihar Elementary Teacher Eligibility

Test, 2011 (in short the BETET) and were declared

passed. With the onset of the selection process of 2014

for appointment on the post of Niyojit Teachers in the

schools of different Blocks of Saran District, the

petitioners applied and were declared successful. After

verification of their documents, they were made to join

their respective posts and have been getting their

salaries. However, all of a sudden, they came to learn

from a newspaper report that an F.I.R. has been lodged Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

on the ground that the certificates of the teachers have

been found to be forged and fabricated. A communication

was made by the Investigating Officer, Vigilance to the

concerned authorities for stopping the salary of the

petitioners.

5. In the case of one of the such teachers,

namely, Chandani Kumari in C.W.J.C. No. 9786 of 2019,

this Court took note of the fact that no proper verification

was made for holding the certificates of the teachers to

be forged and fabricated. For some anomalies observed

by the Vigilance Department in the certificates of such

teachers, a general presumption was drawn that their

certificates are forged and fabricated. No time was given

to the petitioners to explain the circumstance and their

bona fides. Their salary was stopped even without

initiating departmental proceeding against them. Such

orders were passed on the ground of the pendency of the

Vigilance case against most of the teachers appointed in

the selection process of 2014.

6. During the course of investigation of the Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

Vigilance case, on the basis of compliant made by some

of the teachers, an enquiry was set-up wherein it was

found that the Chief Investigator had bungled in the

matter and had not verified anything but had only

mechanically signed the documents and issued various

communications to the authorities concerned for stopping

the salary of the petitioners and others and also for

initiating proceeding for their termination.

7. In the aforesaid case, this Court set-aside

the termination of the petitioner and directed the

Director, Primary Education, Department of Education,

Govt. of Bihar, Patna to look into the matter and pass

necessary order/decision with respect to reinstatement

and resumption of the salary of the petitioner. Such

decision was however made subject to the final outcome

of the investigation of the case. This Court had also

directed for conclusion of the investigation as

expeditiously as possible.

8. Considering the aforesaid view taken by

this Court in the case of Chandani Kumari (supra), in the Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

present case also, the termination order of petitioner Nos.

21, 22 and 23 is set-aside.

9. The petitioners are directed to make a

suitable representation before the Director, Primary

Education, Department of Education, Govt. of Bihar,

Patna along with a copy of this order within a period of

four weeks, the concerned authority shall look into the

same and shall pass necessary orders accordingly,

reinstating petitioner Nos. 21, 22 and 23 and resuming

the salary of the petitioners which has been stopped only

on the ground of pendency of the investigative process or

any other order/orders which would be a necessary sequel

and deemed necessary in these cases. The aforesaid

decision shall but be subject to the final outcome of the

investigation of the case.

10. In case, the petitioners are found to be

guilty, necessary consequences shall follow.

11. This Court reiterates that the police is

under an obligation to conclude the investigation at the

earliest.

Patna High Court CWJC No.13370 of 2019 dt.28-01-2022

12. With the aforesaid observation/direction,

the writ petition stands disposed off.

13. Interlocutory applications, referred to

above, also stand disposed off.

(Ashutosh Kumar, J) Praveen-II/-

AFR/NAFR                NAFR
CAV DATE                N/A
Uploading Date          02.02.2022
Transmission Date       N/A