KEDAR NATH SINHA Vs. SAHDEO JHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has obtained a rule from this Court against the respondents as to why they should not be punished for contempt of this Court. The relevant facts leading to the filing of the above application may be narrated briefly.

(2.) The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher on 17-11-1959 in T. N. B. Collegiate School, Bhagalpur. At that time he was B. A. trained. Later on, he passed M. A. Examination in the year 1963 and also obtained Diploma in Education in 1970. The Managing Committee of the school in its resolution dated 5-6-1973 appointed the petitioner as the Assistant Headmaster of the School who was also authorised to take charge from the outgoing Headmaster, who was retiring on 14th June 1973, and function as such until a permanent Headmaster was appointed. The recommendation of the Managing Committee was also approved by the District Education Officer by his order dated 6th July 1973 and the scale of pay of Assistant Headmaster was also sanctioned by the District Education Officer to the petitioner. The petitioner was also sanctioned 20% officiating allowance for the post of Headmaster. Things went on well until this Managing Committee continued. On 8-7-1974, the new Managing Committee came in, and the case of the petitioner is that the new Managing Committee was favourably disposed towards another Assistant teacher of the school, namely Surendra Mohan Pandey (respondent No. 3), and soon after its constitution, on 10-7-1974 adopted a resolution appointing respondent No. 3, as the Headmaster incharge of the school and directed the petitioner to hand over the charge immediately. The District Education Officer was apprised of this situation by the representation of the petitioner who by a letter dated 22-7-1974 addressed to the Secretary of the Managing Committee, directed to allow the petitioner to continue as the Headmaster In charge of the school. The petitioner had to come to this Court in C. W. J. C. No. 1316 of 1974 challenging the order dated 10-7-1974 of the Managing Committee because in spite of the order of the District Education Officer, some of the members of the Managing Committee were not allowing him to function properly. At the time of admission of the said application, however, the application was allowed to be withdrawn in view of the direction of the District Education Officer. The Secretary of the Managing Committee thereafter served a notice of suspension dated 2-9-1974 on the petitioner in pursuance of a purported disciplinary proceeding started against him and he was called upon to file his show cause within fifteen days. He was served with another order of the same date demoting him from the post of the Assistant Headmaster to the Assistant teacher and was directed to hand over charge of his office to Paras Nath Sinha, another assistant teacher, who had since been promoted as the Assistant Headmaster of the School. It appears that the Secretary of the Bihar Madhyamik Siksha Board, Bihar, (respondent No. 4) had issued a letter to the District Education Officer on 27-8-1974 seeking some clarification from him as to why the petitioner was promoted as the Assistant Headmaster in supersession of other senior teachers and further directed him to withhold payment of the salary at the higher scale payable to an Asst. Headmaster until further orders. The District Education Officer, accordingly, withdrew his earlier approval with respect to the promotion of the petitioner by his letter dated 7-9-1974. The petitioner then filed another writ application in this Court, being C. W J. C. No. 1511 of 1974 (reported in 1976 Lab IC 1038) (Pat), annexing the aforesaid two letters dated 2-9-1974 of the Secretary of the Managing Committee mentioned above as Annexs. 10 and 11, the letter dated 27-8-1974 of the Secretary, Bihar Madhyamik Siksha Board, as Annex. 12 and that of the District Education Officer dated 7-8-1974 as Annex, 13, for their cancellation and direction upon the respondents not to disturb the petitioner in any manner.

(3.) The aforesaid writ application was placed for final hearing before me and was allowed on 17th March, 1975, in view of the various provisions contained in Sections 45 and 46 of the Bihar Ordinance No. 112 of 1974, namely the Bihar Secondary Education Board Ordinance, 1974. Which came into force on 20th May, 1974. This Court clearly observed that the decision of the District Education Officer approving the appointment of the petitioner as the Assistant Headmaster was final and "the Board has not been empowered under the Rules to sit over the judgment of the District Education Officer and take any decision upsetting the same". With respect to the action taken against the petitioner by the Managing Committee under the orders dated 2-9-1974, which were made Annexs. 10 to 11 to the writ application, it was observed that "the proceedings taken against the petitioner and passing the order of suspension as contained in Annex. 10 ... ... ... is clearly without jurisdiction" in view of the provisions of the Ordinance. All the four impugned Annexures contained in An-nexures 10, 11, 12, 13 to the writ application were quashed by a writ of certiorari. it was., however, made clear that it would be open to the ''appropriate authority", if they felt satisfied, to take any action against the petitioner for the irregularities committed by him if any. Aftar this order was passed, on 30-4-1975, at the instance of and with the consent of the learned Counsel who appeared for the parties in that case, an order was passed that Annex. 12 to the writ application would not be deemed to have been quashed.