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2015 DIGILAW 1419 (JHR)

Raghubans Singh v. State of Jharkhand

2015-11-06

PRAMATH PATNAIK

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JUDGMENT : Pramath Patnaik, J. 1. In the accompanied writ application, the petitioner has inter alia prayed for issuance of a writ of certiorari quashing the letter dated 29.04.2009 (Annexure-7 to the writ petition) pertaining to dismissal of the petitioner from services and for direction to the respondents to allow his reinstatement with back wages. 2. Bereft of unnecessary details, the facts as described in the writ application, in a nutshell is that the petitioner was put under suspension vide Annexure-1 to the writ application, while allowing fake teacher’s joining and also for disbursement of salary in their favour. The charge was framed against the petitioner and departmental proceeding was drawn during which he attended the enquiry proceeding. It has been averred in the writ application that the petitioner accepted the joining of the teachers on the basis of mass scale of transfer all over the State i.e. in South Chotanagpur vide letter nos. 5205 dated 15.09.1995 and 5421 dated 26.10.1995 as per Annexures-4 and 4/A of the writ petition, wherein it has been expressly instructed to the Principal/Head mistress to take their joining within a week and this has also been brought to the knowledge of the D.E.O. of the School Inspectors etc. and their officers. During enquiry it has been found that the teacher’s joining in the school was fake and appropriate action was ordered against the persons involved. The State Government also ordered for lodging F.I.R. against the fake teachers. It has further been stated in the writ application that some of the teachers approached this Court in W.P.(S) No. 960 of 2005 and an interim protection has been allowed in their favour. The petitioner was dismissed from services and the appeal filed by the petitioner has been rejected. Being aggrieved by the order of dismissal and the order of the appellate authority, left with no alternative and efficacious remedy, the petitioner has approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, invoking extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court for redressal of his grievance. 3. Per contra, respondents have filed counter affidavit controverting the averments made in the writ application. In the counter affidavit, it has been submitted that the Director, Secondary Education, Bihar, Patna vide letter no. 1953 dated 07.07.2004 informed that some fake teachers are working in the Ram Vilas+2 High School, Bermo, Bokaro. 3. Per contra, respondents have filed counter affidavit controverting the averments made in the writ application. In the counter affidavit, it has been submitted that the Director, Secondary Education, Bihar, Patna vide letter no. 1953 dated 07.07.2004 informed that some fake teachers are working in the Ram Vilas+2 High School, Bermo, Bokaro. Subsequently, pursuant to above said letter, District Education Officer, Bokaro was directed to submit report vide letter dated 07.10.2004. The District Education Officer, Bokaro reported that 15 fake teachers were working in the said school, therefore, vide memo dated 03.01.2005 direction was issued to District Education Officer, Bokaro to stop their payment of salary. After thorough verification it was found that the petitioner, the then Headmaster, Ram Vilas+2 High School, Bermo, Bokaro accepted the joining of 11 fake teachers without proper verification of their appointment letters and allowed the payment of their salary. The petitioner also allowed the joining of so called fake teachers without genuine order of Director, Secondary Education, Bihar, Patna. The petitioner was responsible for joining of 11 fake teachers, consequently he was suspended vide letter dated 04.09.2001 and put under departmental enquiry. The Regional Deputy Director of Education, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh submitted his report vide memo dated 24.04.2002 and recommended that the petitioner should be exonerated from suspension but he should be put under further departmental enquiry. On his recommendation, the order of suspension was revoked. However, further departmental enquiry continued and the enquiry committee also found the petitioner guilty of accepting the joining of fake teachers and helping in the disbursement of salary to them causing pecuniary loss to the Government Exchequer. The petitioner was again suspended vide order dated 03.01.2005. Thereafter, charge sheet was issued to the petitioner vide memo dated 01.07.2005 for further enquiry by the Regional Deputy Director of Education, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh, who submitted his report and found that the charge levelled against the petitioner prima facie stands proved vide annexure-A to the counter affidavit. Thereafter, the petitioner was issued second show cause vide letter no.183 dated 18.01.2007. The petitioner failed to produce any witness in his favour, consequently, he was dismissed from services vide letter dated 29.04.2009 under Rule 9(1) of Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Act, 2002. Thereafter, the petitioner was issued second show cause vide letter no.183 dated 18.01.2007. The petitioner failed to produce any witness in his favour, consequently, he was dismissed from services vide letter dated 29.04.2009 under Rule 9(1) of Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Act, 2002. In pursuance to order dated 09.02.2011 in W.P. (S) No. 1150 of 2009, the petitioner filed appeal before the appellate authority i.e. Principal Secretary, Human Resources Development Department against the order dated 29.04.2009 and the appellate authority heard the petitioner on 30.07.2011 and found that the petitioner did not produce any new fact in his favour and just reiterated what he had said in his second show cause as the allegations levelled against the petitioner were of grave nature and warranted major punishment, therefore, his appeal petition was rejected vide order dated 16.08.2011. Moreover, the District Education Officer, Bokaro has been directed to stop the salary payment of fake teachers and file certificate case as well as criminal case against the fake teachers for recovery of amount paid to them as salary, as evident from Annexure-C to the counter affidavit. The petitioner worked in complicity with the fake teachers and was a part of the whole plot while accepting their joining and allowed the payment of salary causing irreparable loss to the Government Exchequer, therefore, he has been rightly dismissed from service. 4. Heard Mr. Pratyush Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner as well as Mr. Chanchal Jain, J.C. to AAG appearing for the respondents. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner during course of argument has referred to the supplementary affidavit, wherein it has been submitted that during pendency of the writ petition persons who were alleged to be fake appointees by respondents had filed W.P.(S) No. 960 of 2005 and the said case has been allowed vide judgment dated 02.01.2014 and thereby, the show cause notice dated 27.01.2005 issued by the respondents therein have been quashed on the ground that the same has been issued on mere suspicion by the respondents as per Annexure-9 to the supplementary affidavit. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is completely innocent and has been falsely implicated. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is completely innocent and has been falsely implicated. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also referred to the supplementary affidavit filed on 16.12.2014, wherein it has been submitted that petitioner was directed by the Director, Secondary Education, Patna Bihar to accept the joining of the aforesaid fresh appointees as per Annexure-S/1 to the supplementary affidavit and the petitioner after accepting the joining of the aforesaid 5 fresh appointees immediately forwarded the same to the office of the District Education Officer for verification/investigation by the State Government and after verification it was found that the aforesaid 5 fresh appointees were genuine and the same was also communicated to the District Education Officer, Bokaro by the Director, Secondary Education, Patna, Bihar, as the letter dated 14.05.1996 has been annexed as Annexure-S/2 to the supplementary affidavit. Relying on the supplementary affidavit, the counsel for the petitioner strenuously urged that the petitioner has been falsely implicated and has been made escape goat for the omissions on the part of the State authorities. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also referred to another affidavit dated 21.01.2015, wherein it has been submitted that the petitioner after accepting the joining of 5 fresh appointees immediately forwarded the same to the office of the District Education Officer for verification by the State Government and the said fact is conclusively proved by letter dated 14.05.1996 written by District Education Officer, Dhanbad cum Bokaro to the Director, Secondary Education, Bihar at Patna. Therefore, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the 5 fresh appointees were found to be genuine. 6. Mr. Chanchal Jain, J.C. to AAG appearing for the respondents has assiduously submitted that the impugned order of dismissal from service which has been confirmed by the appellate authority do not call for any interference since the scope of interference in a departmental proceeding is very limited and the allegations levelled against the petitioner which are of the grave nature has been proved to the hilt and the complicity of the petitioner has been proved during enquiry. Therefore, the respondents have rightly dismissed the petitioner from services. 7. Therefore, the respondents have rightly dismissed the petitioner from services. 7. After having gone through the writ application, supplementary affidavit and the rivalized submissions, it appears that the petitioner has not been able to make out a case for interference due to the following facts, reasons and judicial pronouncements:- (I) That in the instant case admittedly in pursuant to the charges enquiry was conducted and the petitioner was found guilty of accepting the joining of fake teachers and helping them causing pecuniary loss to the Government. During enquiry it also came to the surface that the petitioner worked with the aforesaid fake teachers and was a part of the whole conspiracy while deliberately accepting the joining of fake teachers and allowing them for payment of salary which is a serious misconduct, therefore, just punishment has been inflicted on the petitioner. (II) In the instant case, there has been no procedural irregularity from the initiation of proceeding till its culmination nor the proceeding is based on no evidence, therefore, there is absolutely no ground to interfere with in the impugned order of punishment. (III) In the case in hand, in view of the seriousness of allegation and misconduct committed by the petitioner, the power of judicial review cannot be applied and moreover the fact finding given by the enquiry officer based on the material on record cannot be interfered with, as has been held by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of State of Uttar Pradesh and Another Vs. Man Mohan Nath Sinha & Another as reported in (2009) 8 SCC 310 , specially at paragraph 15, which is quoted herein below:- “15. The legal position is well settled that the power of judicial review is not directed against the decision but is confined to the decision-making process. The court does not sit in judgment on merits of the decision. It is not open to the High Court to re-appreciate and reappraise the evidence led before the inquiry officer and examine the findings recorded by the inquiry officer as a court of appeal and reach its own conclusions………” 8. Applying the aforesaid principles of Hon’ble Apex Court, as indicated hereinabove, I find no reason to interfere with the impugned order of dismissal dated 29.04.2009, vide Annexure-7 to the writ petition and the order of the appellate authority dated 16.08.2011 passed by the Principal Secretary, Human Resources Development Department, Jharkhand, Ranchi. Applying the aforesaid principles of Hon’ble Apex Court, as indicated hereinabove, I find no reason to interfere with the impugned order of dismissal dated 29.04.2009, vide Annexure-7 to the writ petition and the order of the appellate authority dated 16.08.2011 passed by the Principal Secretary, Human Resources Development Department, Jharkhand, Ranchi. 9. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed being devoid of merit.