HARI RAM TRIPATHI Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Sri Kailash Chandra, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Jogendra Nath Verma, learned counsel for the Basic Shiksha Adhikari. It is the contention of the petitioner that he has been suspended vide order dated 21.6.2008, annexed as annexure No.1 to this petition. A perusal of the order shows that the petitioner has been suspended on certain charges. Enquiry Officer has also been nominated but neither any charge sheet has been issued till date nor any enquiry has started. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner has been kept under suspension without even being paid subsistence allowance. A person can not be placed under suspension as a measure of punishment. In fact suspension should be resorted to only for the purpose of conducting an impartial enquiry against the said employee. It is expected that a person/employee working on the same post can interfere with the impartial conduction of the enquiry, hence the petitioner has been placed under suspension and attached to some other post but even for rarest of rare charges the subsistence allowance can not be stopped as that is a basic guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution. By way of suspension opposite parties can not be allowed or permitted to starve an employee. Learned counsel for the Basic Shiksha Adhikari has vehemently argued that the charges are so grave that it will result in serious punishment to the petitioner and the enquiry will soon be conducted . Be that as it may, there is no good ground to keep the petitioner under suspension any more. Therefore, this Court directs that the opposite parties will issue a charge sheet to the petitioner within three weeks from today and within next 15 days the petitioner shall submit his reply. The enquiry shall be completed within a period of 6 weeks. Further, a month's time is granted for show cause notice, if any by the disciplinary authority and 15 days for reply thereafter. The whole exercise shall be completed within four months from today. The petitioner is directed to cooperate with the enquiry and not take any adjournment on flimsy grounds and, in case, he makes an attempt to derail he enquiry proceeding the proposed interim order in his favour shall stand vacated. List this matter after four weeks. Meanwhile, the order dated 21.6.2008, so far it places the petitioner under suspension, shall remain stayed. It is clarified that all other directions in that order will remain alive and the enquiry shall be conducted to its logical conclusion. The opposite parties shall also consider the payment of subsistence allowance to the petitioner as per rules.