GANITA DEVI W/O SHALIGRAM YADAV RESIDENT OF VILLAGE Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR THROUGH CHIEF SECRETARY, BIHAR GOVERNMENT BIHAR, PATNA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the appellant, learned counsel for the State, learned counsel for the Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board (for brevity, the Board) and learned counsel for contesting private respondent No 6 and, with their consent, this appeal is being disposed of at this stage itself.

(2.) The appellant is the unsuccessful writ petitioner and is aggrieved by the order of the learned Single Judge by which her writ petition being CWJC No 6723 of 2012 has been dismissed on 30.04.2012, virtually on ground of delay. The writ petitioner/appellant had challenged the selection and appointment of respondent No 6 Ranjana Kumari as Angan Bari Sevika as was done on 20.05.2008. The ground for challenge was that the writ petitioner/appellant was shown at serial 2 in the selection list whereas respondent No 6 was shown as serial 1 in the select list. On enquiry by the writ petitioner/appellant, it turned out that the Madhyama certificate on basis of which respondent No 6 was selected, as issued by the Board, was a forged document. Thus, the submission of the writ petitioner was that respondent No 6 had secured the appointment using forged document and, as such, the selection was void and illegal and had to be cancelled. As noted above, the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition on ground of laches.

(3.) We have considered the matter. To us, there is a settled principle that if non-interference would give sanctity to otherwise an illegality, then interference is required, and the technical ground of laches cannot come in way. If we agree with the learned Single Judge that the writ petition has to be dismissed on grounds of delay and laches, the effect would be that this Court would be sanctifying an illegality that is an illegal appointment. If the marks sheet on basis of which appointment has been made was found to be forged, by non-interfering, an appointment based on fraud and forged document, would get validity, which can never be permitted, delay or not.