SUSANTA CHATTERJEE Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SINCE both these writ petitions are interrelated to each other, both the writ petitions have been taken up for hearing analogously. First of such writ petitions, being W.P. No. 6776(W) of 2011, was filed by a suspended non-teaching staff of Satyabharati Vidyapith in the District of North 24 Parganas. The legality of the suspension order, by which the said non-teaching staff was placed under suspension in contemplation of a disciplinary proceeding, is under challenge in the said writ petition at the instance of the said suspended non-teaching staff. It is contended by him that the charges, for which he was placed under suspension by the present Managing Committee of the said school, were identical to the charges which were brought against him earlier by the Administrator of the said school. But on receipt of the petitioners reply to the said charges, the Administrator exonerated the petitioner from those charges and withdrew the charges framed against the petitioner by his letter dated 23rd August, 2010. It is, thus, contended that when he has already been exonerated by the Administrator of the said school, the present Managing Committee cannot suspend him once again by bringing identical charges against him.

(2.) BE that as it may; fact remains that during the pendency of this writ petition the impugned order of suspension was disapproved by the Committee constituted under Section 24 of the West BEngal Board of Secondary Education Act, 1963 as the said Committee was of the view that the presence of the petitioner in school will not affect the independent enquiry to be initiated against him by the school authority. The Boards decision for disapproval of the order of suspension was communicated to the school authority by the Board vide its letter dated 20th may, 2011 during the pendency of this writ petition.

(3.) THE respondent no.8 was placed under suspension at a point of time when the disciplinary proceeding was not initiated against him. THE said respondent was placed under suspension as the school authority wanted to initiate a disciplinary proceeding against him on the following charges:-