Patna High Court
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.21630 of 2012 ====================================================== Usha Kumari @ Usha Devi W/O Umesh Mani Tiwary R/O Village- Tumkaria, P.S.- Shikaripur, District- West Champaran .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State Of Bihar Through The Principal Secretary Department Of Health, Govt. Of Bihar, Patna 2. The Principal Secretary Department Of Health, Govt. Of Bihar, Patna 3. The District Magistrate, West Champaran, Bettiah 4. The Civil Surgeon-Cum-Chief Medical Officer West Champaran, Bettiah 5. The In-Charge Medical Officer, Primary Health Centre, Sikata, West Champaran 6. The In-Charge Medical Officer Primary Health Centre, Thakaraha, West Champaran. .... .... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ajay Kumar Singh, Adv For the Respondent/s : Mr. S.D. Sanjay AAG12 ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MIHIR KUMAR JHA ORAL ORDER 2 16-12-2013 Heard learned counsel for the parties. The petitioner is aggrieved by an order passed by the Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, East Champaran(Bettiah) dated 27.07.2012 which in fact was by way of compliance of the earlier direction given by this Court in the order dated 21.03.2012 passed in C.W.J.C No. 5195 of 2012.
Legal Reasoning
Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that when the respondents did not dispute the correctness of the appointment letter of the petitioner contained in memo no. 931 dated 06.06.1996 issued from the Office of Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, East Patna High Court CWJC No.21630 of 2012 (2) dt.16-12-2013 2 Champaran(Motihari), they cannot be permitted to doubt the appointment and continuation of the petitioner much less deprive her from payment of salary. In this case, a counter affidavit has already been filed by respondent no. 4 namely, Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, West Champaran (Bettiah), wherein, he has explained that from the documents and records which are available in his Office, he does not find any proof of either petitioner of being relieved on 19.03.2010 or her joining on 30.10.2011. To that extent, it would be relevant to quote the three reasons in the impugned order on the basis of which the Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, West Champaran (Bettiah) has come to the conclusion that the very appointment of the petitioner was fraudulent because the order of transfer/relieving as claimed by her was found to be forged which reads as follows:- "dk;kZy; vlSfud ’kY; fpfdRld lg eq[; fpfdRlk inkf/kdkjh i0 pEikj.k] csfr;k vkns’k CWJC No. 5195/2012 m"kk dqekjh ouke jkT; ljdkj ,oa vU; esa fnukad 21-03-2012 dks ekuuh; mPp U;k;ky; fcgkj iVuk }kjk ikfjr vkns’k ds vkyksd esa Jhefr m"kk dqekjh ls fu;qfDr dh oS/krk ds laca/k esa fu;[email protected]@fojfer@;ksxnku ls lacaf/kr vfHkys[kksa ds lkFk bl dk;kZy; ds Kki la0 2284 fnukad 15-05-2012 ,oa 2336 fnukad 22-02012 ds rgr dze’k% fnukad 19-05-2012 ,oa 28-05- 2012 dh frfFk dks mifLFkr gksus gsrq funsf’kr fd;k x;k] ijUrq ;s Patna High Court CWJC No.21630 of 2012 (2) dt.16-12-2013 3 lle; lacaf/kr vfHkys[kksa ds lkFk mifLFkr ugha gqbZA rnksijkar v|ksgLrk{kjh dk;kZy; ds vfHkys[kksa ,oa izHkkjh fpfdRlk inkf/kdkjh] izkFkfed LokLF; dsUnz] Bdjkgk ,oa fldVk ls izkIr vfHkys[kksa ds tkapksijkUr fuEukafdr rF; mtkxj gq,A 1- bl dk;kZy; ds Kki la0 398 fnukad 2602-2010 ds vuqikyu ds Jhefr m"kk dqekjh dks izHkkjh fpfdRlk inkf/kdkjh izkFkfed Lok0 dsUnz Bdjkgk ds Kki la0 70 fnukad 19-03-2010 ds }kjk izkFkfed Lok0 dsUnz fldVk esa ;ksxnku djus gsrq fojfer fn[kk;k x;k gS tks lgh ugha gSa izkFkfed Lok0 dsUnz Bdjkgk ds fuxZr iath ds Kkikad 70 ij Jhefr uqjckuksa ,0mu0,e0 Jh lfpu dqekj ,oa Jh dkS’ky fd’kksj feJ dk uke cSBd ess Hkkx ysus gsrq vafdr gSA 2- izHkkjh fpfdRlk inkf/kdkjh] izkFkfed Lok0 dsUnz Bdjkgk us vius i=kad 190 fnukad 31-10-2011 ds }kjk lwfpr fd;k gS fd Jhefr m"kk dqekjh dks muds laLFkku ls u rks fojfer fd;k x;k gS vkSj uk gh mudk vfUre osru izek.k i= fuxZr fd;k x;k gSA 3- Jhefr m"kk dqekjh tkyh vfHkys[kksa ds vk/kkj ij izkFkfed Lok0 dsUnz] fldVk esa ,0 ,u0 ,e0 ds in ij ;ksxnku dj dk;Z dj jgh FkhA mDr foUnqvkssa ds ifjis{; esa v|ksgLrk{kjh bl fu"d"kZ ij igWqps fd Jhefr m"kk dqekjh dk LFkkukUrj.k@fojfer vkns’k tkyh ,oa QthZ gS] vr,o buds ,0 ,u0 ,e0 ds in ij fu;qDr gkus dk dksbZ iz’u gh ugaha gSA QyLo:i bl dk;kZy; ds Kki la0 2558 fnukad 16-11- 2011 ds rgr dh x;h dkjZokbZ dks mfpr djkj nsrs gq, bUgsa fnukad 1611-2011 ls lsok ls eqDr fd;k tkrk gS ,oa izkFkfed LokLF; dsUnz fldVk esa buds dk;Z vof/k dk Hkqxrku ,0,u0,e0 in ds fy;s jkT; LokLF; lfefr }kjk fu/kkZfjr ekuns; ds vuq:i djus dh Lohd‘fr nh tkrh gSA g0@& vlSfud ’kY; fp0 lg eq0 fpfdRlk ink0 i0 pEikj.k] csfr;kA Kki la0 2995 csfr;k] fnukad 27-7-12** Patna High Court CWJC No.21630 of 2012 (2) dt.16-12-2013 4 In the considered opinion of this Court, the Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, West Champaran (Bettiah), who was directed by this Court could not have gone beyond the documents in existence. The case of the petitioner was that she was appointed in another district namely, East Champaran by Civil Surgeon, Motihari and therefore such appointment letter of the petitioner in original could have been verified only from the Office of Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, West Champaran (Bettiah). That however could not have been done because the original appointment letter of the petitioner was not produced. Thus whatever documents were brought into the notice of the Civil Surgeon were capable of being verified and has been examined in relation to the claim of transfer and relieving in the district of Bettiah and the finding of the Civil Surgeon is based on them that though the transfer letter/relieving letter are forged letters and legality of such finding cannot be gone into in a writ jurisdiction because it would require leading of evidence from both the sides. Nonetheless, the petitioner has the onus to prove her appointment to be correct before she can claim any relief by way of continuance in service or payment of salary for the work done. The petitioner cannot deny that the transfer from her original district of appointment i.e. East Champaran to Patna High Court CWJC No.21630 of 2012 (2) dt.16-12-2013 5 West Champaran had to be done by the Director-in-chief of Health Services. The Director-in-chief of Health Services therefore may call for the entire documents relating to the so called claim of the petitioner and if the petitioner produces her original appointment letter and original transfer letter transferring her from East Champaran to West Champaran as also other documents in support of her claim of continuously working from 1996 onwards, they must be handed over in person to the Director-in-chief of Health Services. The Director-in-chief of Health Services would thereafter do the needful and take a decision as with regard to the authenticity and correctness of the appointment of the petitioner as also her claim of continuance and payment of salary. This exercise however must be completed by the Director-in-chief of Health Services within a period of six months from the date of filing of the representation by the petitioner. If the Director-in-chief of Health Services finds that the petitioner has staked her claim on fraudulent basis through the forged documents, he would be also at liberty to immediately lodge FIR against the petitioner but on the other hand if he finds that the petitioner's claim is genuine and yet she was being unnecessarily harassed by the Civil Surgeon cum Chief Medical Officer, West Champaran (Bettiah), action would be taken against him, apart from restoring the Patna High Court CWJC No.21630 of 2012 (2) dt.16-12-2013 6 petitioner on her post with full consequential benefits. With the aforementioned observation and direction,
Decision
this application is disposed of. Ranjan/- (Mihir Kumar Jha, J)