Deplorable that public representatives compel public servants to pass illegal orders and they comply: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently took serious note of public representatives' influence over public servants in connection with their duties. Court said that it is deplorable that the representative of the public compels the public servant to pass illegal orders and the public servant complies with their illegal dictates without any demur.

The bench of Justice Siddharth made this strong comment on a plea moved by one Basharat Ullah against cancellation of his appointment as the Principal of a Madrasa allegedly under influence of a Member of Legislative Assembly.

Quashing the order of cancellation of Ullah's appointment, Court directed him to be reinstated in service and ordered that his arrears of salary shall be paid to him within six weeks from the date of the order. "The period during which the petitioner was forced out of employment shall not be considered to be a break in his service. His month-to-month salary shall be paid to him from this month," Court added. 

Court further stressed that in case of delay in payment Ullah would be entitled to get 9 percent simple interest per annum on the amount due to be paid to him from the date it fell due to the date of actual payment.

Furthermore, Court clarified that the State Government would be free to recover the interest paid to the petitioner from the public servant/servants found responsible for the delay.

Ullah had moved the plea before the high court stating that in the year 2019 he was appointed as the principal of "Madarsa Darul Uloom Ahle Sunnat Badrool Uloom at District Basti" which is under the grant-in-aid list of the State Government.  He claimed that he was appointed following due procedure and considering his 5-year-long experience as an assistant teacher in the Darul Uloom Ahle Sunnat Madrasa of Gonda.

He further informed the court that on the basis of a complaint in the year 2020, his experience certificate was also scrutinized by the District Minority Welfare Officer, in which he was given a clean chit.

He alleged that after that, on the basis of the letter sent by the then MLA Sanjay Pratap Jaiswal and the then Labor and Employment Minister Swami Prasad Maurya to the Chief Minister, the approval granted to his appointment was withdrawn by the State authorities.

Ullah contended that the orders canceling his appointment were grossly illegal and had been passed by without any notice or opportunity of hearing. He argued that his appointment could not have been cancelled without holding inquiry and proving the allegations against him before the inquiry officer by leading reliable evidence. Therefore, he claimed that the orders were absolutely arbitrarily and had been passed on the dictate of an MLA, therefore, deserved to be quashed.

However, the counsel for the respondent authorities opposed Ullah's claim and stated that an inquiry was conducted by the Haj Committee against Ullah's appointment, and the approval granted to Ullah was found against the rules, therefore, it was withdrawn. They also claimed that in the inquiry Ullah was given full opportunity of hearing. 

Perusing the material on record, Court noted that it was clear from the order passed by the Special Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Shashan, Lucknow that he only considered the complaint made by the local MLA and the Minister and got some exparte inquiry report from the Secretary / Executive Officer of Haj Committee and thereafter took the decision of cancelling the approval of Ullah's appointment. 

Court stressed that the illegality in the conduct of the respondents was apparent from the material on record and the cancellation orders were passed in gross violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Case Title: Basharat Ullah v. State of UP and 6 Ors.