RUDRA PRATAP SINGH Vs. DISTRICT CO-ORDINATOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been filed by the Petitioners herein who are aggrieved by the action of the Respondent No.1 who directed the Respondent No. 2 to terminate the services of the Petitioners and, accordingly, the Sarpanch vide impugned order dated 09/08/02 terminated the services of the Petitioners from the posts of Guruji and, therefore, the present petition has been filed.

(2.) The brief facts which require to be adverted to in this case are as follows: The Petitioners herein were appointed as Gurujis in the year 1999. They started working pursuant to the order dated 24/12/99 which is Annexure P/1 at page No.10 of the petition. While the Petitioners were so working, the Respondent No.1 directed the Respondent No.2 to terminate the services of the Petitioners and so the services of the Petitioners were terminated. The termination took place after a period of two and a half years from the date the Petitioners had joined on the said posts. The Petitioners were issued show-cause notices on 12/07/02. Inter-alia, the charges were that on a surprise inspection carried out by the District Project Co-Ordinator on 09/07/02 at 12:00 p.m., the school where the Petitioners were to be teaching, was found closed. Charge No.1 required the Petitioners to answer as on whose orders did the Petitioners change the school timings to commence from 7:00 a.m, while the villagers and the President of the panchayat were unaware of it. Charge Nos.8 and 9 are similar in nature whereby the allegations is that the Petitioners had threatened the children of the school and their guardians not to make any complaints and that the Petitioners had secured the jobs after having threatened the villagers. The said show-cause notice also stated that if the replies of the Petitioners were not satisfactory, their services would be terminated with immediate effect. The Petitioners replied to the said notices by their replies dated 31/07/02, which is Annexure P/8 to the petition.

(3.) As regards the change in timings fo the commencement of the school working hours from 7:00 a.m onwards, the Petitioners answered that in the month of July 2002 the Jan Shiksha Kendra Badagaon, Panna, gave oral instructions to the Petitioners to conduct the classes from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. They further elaborated that the Jan Shiksha Kendra vide order No.2 dated 11/07/02, amended the school timings from 15/07/02 to commence from 10:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m. They also denied as false the allegations, that the Petitioners had ever put under the threat of fear, the children along with their guardians, not to inform about the Petitioners' activities. After the reply was received by the Respondents, Respondent No.1 directed the Respondent no.2 to terminate the services of the Petitioners after which the impugned orders were passed. The Petitioners have submitted that the grounds on which they have been terminated have been a smoke screen and that no enquiry was carried out by the Respondents to ascertain the veracity of charges levelled against the Petitioners which have been specifically denied by the Petitioners.