‘Dismissing a Dead Man?’ Allahabad HC Pulls Up Basic Education Director, Seeks Personal Affidavit

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Director of Education (Basic), Uttar Pradesh, to submit a personal affidavit explaining how he issued directions to initiate dismissal proceedings against a teacher who had already died more than a year earlier, expressing strong surprise at the conduct of the authorities.

The bench of Justice Prakash Padia passed the order in a petition filed by Priti Saxena, who approached the court after her family pension was abruptly stopped in December 2022 following an administrative claim that her late husband, assistant teacher Mukul Saxena, had secured his appointment using forged documents.

The High Court recorded that the petitioner’s husband was appointed as an untrained assistant teacher in 1996 under the Dying-in-Harness Rules and had served until his death on 31 May 2021 due to Covid-19. After his death, the petitioner regularly received family pension until November 2022.

The disruption came when the District Basic Education Officer, Farrukhabad, wrote a letter on 17 September 2022 to the Finance and Accounts Officer. The communication relied on a direction dated 18 July 2022 issued by the Director of Education (Basic), U.P., instructing authorities to dismiss Mukul Saxena from service on the allegation that his original appointment was based on forged documents. Acting upon this internal correspondence, the Additional Director, Treasury and Pension, Kanpur Mandal, stopped the family pension on 19 December 2022.

Before the court, the State produced instructions stating that the deceased teacher’s appointment was treated as “null and void from the date of initial appointment".

However, the bench noted that no formal order declaring his appointment void had been placed on record, nor was there any indication of a concluded inquiry preceding such a drastic action. Court observed that the authorities had not even addressed the legal impossibility of conducting disciplinary proceedings against someone who had died long before the initiation of such action.

The judge remarked that it was “very shocking and surprising” that the Director of Education (Basic) issued a letter on 18 July 2022, more than a year after the employee’s death, seeking initiation of proceedings to dismiss him from service. Court noted that the record clearly showed the teacher had died due to Covid-19 in May 2021, making any such direction legally untenable.

In light of these circumstances, the High Court directed the Director of Education (Basic) to file a personal affidavit explaining the legal basis and reasoning behind issuing the July 2022 communication. Court further ordered that the affidavit must be filed within one week; failing this, the officer must remain personally present before the court on the next date of hearing.

The matter has been listed as fresh for 16 December 2025 at 10 AM.

The petitioner was represented by Adv. Mohd. Akaram, while the State was represented by the Chief Standing Counsel and Adv. Kaushlesh Pratap Singh for the education authorities.

Case Title: Priti Saxena Vs. State Of U.P. And 3 Others

Order Date: December 4, 2025

Bench: Justice Prakash Padia