SWADESH KUMARI VERMA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In both the writ applications namely, CWJC, No. 1136/94(R) and CWJC No. 1298/94 (R) (hereinafter referred to as 'the first case and second case respectively) the petitioners have prayed for questing of the same order of the District Education Officer, Ranchi, contained in Memo No. 15048 dated 1st October, 1993, which is purported to have been issued pursuant to the order of the Director, Secondary Education circulated by the District Education Officer. Ranchi, vide memo no. 6334 dated 13th April, 1993 in implementation of which, the payment of house rent allowance to the petitioners have been stopped by the respondent principal, S.J. Doranda Girls High School, who is respondent No. 4.

(2.) In short, the case of the petitioners in the first writ applications is that the petitioners, who are Assistant Teachers in the said school were getting house rent allowance regularly uptill the impugned order, contained in annexure 1 was issued since the school was taken over by the Government of Bihar, except petitioner No. 1, who was transferred to the school in question in the year 1983 and since thereafter she was getting the house rest allowance continuously till October, 1993 when the impugned order was passed. It is stated that the husband of the petitioner not of the first case is Senior Auditor in the office of the Accountant General, Audit, Bihar, Ranchi and the husband of the petitioner No. 1 is an employee of the Central Government working as Accountant in the office of the Accountant General. According to the petitioners, the husband or wife none of them has been provided with accommodation or quarters. The petitioners also have not been provided with accommodation or a quarters by the State Government and both the petitioners are residing with their husbands in their houses owned by their husbands. The case of the petitioners is that initially they were in a rental house and were being paid house rent allowance as per the rules prevalent. Their further case is that in the Financial Rules of the Central Government, it is provided that if both the husband and wife have been posted in the same place and accommodation has not been provided to either of them and if they reside in the rented house or in their own house, the house rent allowance will be allowed to both of them.

(3.) In the second case the facts are more or less identical, except that the husband of the petitioner No. 1 is a University Professor of Agrinomy in Birsa Agriculture University, Ranchi and the husband of petitioner No. 1 is Professor of Botany in Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College, Ranchi, which is in Ranchi University and husband of petitioner No. 3 is an employee of Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi posted as Supervisor in Engineering Section. The case of the petitioners in the second case also is that they are living with their husbands in the houses either belonging to their father or in a rented house and that their husbands have not been provided with any Government accommodation. They were also getting the house rent allowance as per the prescribed rate. But since after the impugned order was passed the payment of house rent allowance to them were stopped by the Principal respondent No. 2.