RAJESHWAR Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is seeking quashing of the order dated 7.11.2015 passed by the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad rejecting the petitioner's representation dated 4.9.2015 as well as the order dated 30.8.2014 whereby the petitioner has been placed under suspension.

(2.) Heard Shri P.N. Saxena, learned senior counsel assisted by Shri Sanjeev Singh for the petitioner, Shri Himanshu Pandey, learned counsel appearing for the caveator, respondent No. 5 and Shri Mata Prasad, learned Addl. Chief Standing Counsel for the respondents No. 1 to 4 and perused the material on record.

(3.) Briefly stated the facts of the case are that the petitioner was placed under suspension by an order dated 30.8.2015. The said order of suspension was also approved by the District Inspector of Schools, Ghaziabad (DIOS) by his order dated 27.10.2014. The contention of the petitioner is that the approval was granted by the DIOS on the basis of some enquiry got conducted by him through the Principal, Government High School, Kushliya. Aggrieved the petitioner filed writ petition No. 61503 of 2014 challenging the order dated 27.10.2014. The said writ petition is stated to have been disposed of by order dated 19.11.2014 with a direction to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad to set up an independent enquiry into the matter with some senior officials of the district administration to constitute the enquiry committee, who would be free from the members of the committee of management as the allegations against the petitioner were very serious in nature made by a group of girl students alleging misbehaviour towards them by the petitioner. Aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner filed Special Appeal No. 1195 of 2014 which was also dismissed by order dated 13.1.2015. Accordingly a four member committee was constituted comprising the Additional District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, Sub Division Magistrate, Sadar, Ghaziabad, District Inspector of Schools, Ghaziabad and Finance and Accounts Officer (Secondary Education), Ghaziabad. The committee submitted its report dated 4.2.2015 holding that although there appeared to be some dispute between the Principal of the College, one Sri Kuber Dutt Kaushik and the petitioner regarding the post of Principal of the institution but the allegations made against the petitioner prima facie appeared to be correct and the students were not happy with his teaching or with his 'conduct'. It is also stated that on coming to know about the report of the four members' committee as well as the allegations made by the girl students against the petitioner, the girls as well as their parents/guardians submitted affidavits denying the allegations stated to have been made by the girls or by their guardians against the petitioner. The District Magistrate however disagreed with the enquiry report dated 4.2.2015 by his order dated 10.3.2015 and marked the same to the Additional District Magistrate (City) for a fresh enquiry in the light of the affidavits given by the students and their guardians and thereafter a note dated 12.3.2015 was marked by the A.D.M. City to the District Inspector of Schools, Ghaziabad and the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad thereafter marked the same to the Principal, Government Higher Secondary, Nahali, Ghaziabad who was appointed as a fresh enquiry officer. The Principal, Government Higher Secondary, Nahali, Ghaziabad proceeded with the fresh enquiry and tried to verify the genuineness of the affidavits and called upon each of the students and their guardians and found that the allegations made against the petitioner were on forged papers. This enquiry noted that the statement given by the students earlier were on blank sheet dated 5.8.2014. The enquiry report of the Principal, Government Higher Secondary, Nahali, Ghaziabad was forwarded by the District Inspector of Schools to the A.D.M. (City) who forwarded the same to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, who in turn directed the A.D.M. (City) to proceed accordingly. The A.D.M. (City) by his letter dated 10.6.2015 called upon the District Inspector of Schools to give his comments on the report submitted by the Principal, Government Higher Secondary, Nahali, Ghaziabad but the District Inspector of Schools, expressed his inability to do so. Thereafter the A.D.M. (City) passed an order dated 27.6.2015 addressed to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad accepting the enquiry report dated 4.2.2015 in pursuance of which the order of suspension dated 30.8.2014 was upheld. Aggrieved by the order dated 27.6.2015 and its approval, the petitioner submitted a representation on 5.8.2015. In the meantime against the order dated 27.6.2015 approved by the District Magistrate on 1.7.2015, the petitioner filed writ petition No. 47309 of 2015 which was disposed of by the Court by order dated 21.8.2015 with a direction to the District Magistrate to take into consideration the objections of the petitioner and also the material which came into existence after 10.3.2015 and thereafter pass fresh orders. The petitioner thereafter submitted a representation before the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad dated 4.9.2015 alongwith the copy of the order of the Court.