Allahabad High Court
Krishna Nand Rai vs State Of U.P. And 2 Others on 16 December, 2020
Author: Shekhar Kumar Yadav
Bench: Shekhar Kumar Yadav
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Court No. - 75 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 12174 of 2020 Petitioner :- Krishna Nand Rai Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Sanjay Kumar Dubey,Sr. Advocate Sri R.K. Ojha Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Arun Kumar Hon'ble Shekhar Kumar Yadav,J.
Heard Sri Radha Kant Ojha, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri Sanjay Kumar Dubey, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the State.
By means of this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for quashing the order dated 30.06.2020 passed by District Basic Education Officer, Gorakhpur by which the petitioner has been suspended.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner has been appointed on the post of Assistant Teacher in Primary School vide order dated 03.1.2006 passed by District Basic Education Officer, Gorakhpur. The appointment of the petitioner was made under the quota of "Dependent of Freedom Fighter" on the basis of dependents of Freedom Fighter Certificate issued by Village Development Officer dated 06.09.2001. Subsequently, the petitioner was promoted on the post of Assistant Teacher in Purva Madhyamik Vidyalaya Poudhariya, Block Badhalganj, District Gorakhpur vide order dated 29.06.2020 and since then the petitioner is working on the said post. On compliant being made by the villagers, the certificate of dependent of freedom fighter of petitioner was cancelled by District Magistrate, Gorakhpur vide order dated 24.04.2020. Consequently, the District Basic Education Officer Gorakhpur suspended the petitioner vide order dated 30.06.2020, hence, this writ petition.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that the aforesaid certificate of dependent of freedom fighter issued by Additional District Magistrate (Administration) Gorakhpur after calling for a report from the authority concerned and in the said certificate it is also mentioned that great grand son of petitioner late Ram Chandra Rai was freedom fighter. Further submission is that according to Law at present, the benefit of being dependent of freedom fighter is available only to descendants up to the stage of grand son but the District Basic Education Officer suspended the petitioner vide order dated 30.06.2020 by contending that the petitioner obtained appointment by way of playing fraud on the basis of forged certificate.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that the certificate of dependent of freedom fighter issued by A.D.M. Gorakhpur has wrongly been cancelled by the authority concerned and placing reliance on the same, petitioner has been wrongly suspended against the law laid down by Apex Court in the case of Dattu S/O Namdev Thakur vs. State of Maharashtra and others, 2020 AIR SCW 203. It is further contended that the impugned suspension order has been passed without any notice or opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
It is further submitted that it was incumbent upon the respondents where the employee was alleged to have obtained appointment on forged dependent certificate, to refer the matter to the District Level Scrutiny/Verification Committee constituted in each State to verify the genuineness of the said certificate.
In that view of the matter, without prejudice to the merits of the case, the writ petition is disposed of with the direction to the respondents to refer the matter to the District Level Scrutiny Committee which would examine all aspects, and return a finding on the genuineness of petitioner's certificate. Based upon outcome of such report, it would be open for the authority concerned to pass a fresh order. Since sufficient time has already been lapsed, the District Level Scrutiny Committee shall take up the matter on priority and conclude the enquiry, preferably within a period of three months from the date such reference is made by the employer. Till the matter is got investigated the impugned suspension order date 30.06.2020 passed by District Basic Education Officer, Gorakhpur shall be kept in abeyance.
Order Date :- 16.12.2020 Ajeet