Patna High Court
Ramdev RamversusThe Union of India
- Decided
- Disposal
- WITHDRAWN
- Bench
- ALOK KUMAR SINHA
Holding
The court allowed the petitioners to withdraw the writ and dismissed the application as withdrawn, granting them liberty to seek appropriate remedies under labour law.
Summary
The petitioners, a group of retired teachers appointed as Block Resource Persons (BRPs), challenged a district education officer's memo dated 28‑02‑2025 that barred them from performing school inspection work, citing a higher‑level letter that reserved such duties for regular education department officers. They sought certiorari and mandamus to quash the memo, to be allowed to continue working as BRPs until the retirement age of 65, and to restrain the respondents from enforcing the order. The respondents contended that the petitioners, not being civil servants, lacked locus standi to invoke Article 226 of the Constitution. The petitioners offered to withdraw the writ and pursue remedies under labour and industrial law. The court permitted the withdrawal, granted liberty to approach the appropriate forum, and dismissed the writ application as withdrawn.
Issues considered
- Whether a person who is not a civil servant has locus standi to file a writ petition under Article 226 challenging an administrative order.
- Whether the district education officer's memo is within the jurisdiction and legality of the education department.
- Whether the petitioners should seek relief under labour and industrial statutes instead of a constitutional writ.
Subjects
- Article 226
- writ jurisdiction
- maintainability
- retired teachers
- Block Resource Person
- labour law
- certiorari
- mandamus
- administrative order
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.8091 of 2025
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1. Ramdev Ram S/o Prasad Ram, R/o Village Kursi Barwa, P.S. Sikta, District-
West Champaran.
2. Nandlal Ram S/o Dhudhraj Ram, R/o Ward No. 13, Pipra, P.S Chautarva,
District- West Champaran.
3. Hira Lal Ram @ Heeralal Ram S/o Bikramadit Ram, R/o Village Dhaunaha,
Nauka Tola, P.S Dhanha, District- West Champaran.
4. Sudha Kumari W/o Prabhunarayan Singh, R/o Ward No. 24, Lal Bazar,
Bettiah, P.S. Bettiah, District- West Champaran.
5. Shagufta Parveen W/o Reyazul Ansari, R/o Ganj No. 2, Ward No. 19,
Bettiah, P.S. Bettiah Town, District- West Champaran.
6. Shiwakant Pandey S/o Late Rajendra Pandey, R/o Jaiprakash Nagar, ITI
Road No. 6, Bettiah, P.S. Muffasil, District- West Champaran.
7. Premchandra Prasad S/o Vishwanath Prasad, R/o Village Puraina, Ward No.
2, P.S. Yogapatti, District- West Champaran.
8. Sreekant Prasad Kushwaha @ Sreekant Prasad Kushwaha S/o Raghunath
Bagat Kushwaha, R/o Village Pipra Santpur, Mainator P.S. Chautarva,
District- West Champaran.
9. Umakant Mishra S/o Mukut Mishra, R/o Village Chapariya Tola, Rampurwa
P.S. Rampurwa, District- West Champaran.
10. Shambhu Prasad S/o Late Laxmi Prasad, R/o Jaiprakash Nagar, ITI Road
No. 6, Bettiah, P.S. Muffasil, District- West Champaran.
11. Akhileshwar Prasad Rai S/o Jundbahadur Rai, R/o Village Raidhurwa, Ward
No. 6, P.S. Mannwapul, District- West Champaran.
12. Birendra Kumar Singh S/o Late Gorakh Singh, R/o Ward No. 7, Nauka Tola,
P.S. Ramnagar, District- West Champaran.
13. Shambhu Prasad S/o Late Nathuni Prasad, R/o Village Jogiya, P.S.
Ramnagar, District- West Champaran.
14. Vijay Kumar Tiwari S/o Tarkeshwar Tiwari, R/o Village Turhatti, P.S.
Mannwapul, District- West Champaran.
15. Harun Ansari S/o Hakim Ahamad, R/o Marwari Tola, Ward No. 29, P.S.
Bagha, District- West Champaran.
16. Vijay Kumar Srivastava S/o Late Ganesh Prasad Srivastava, R/o Budhwari
Tola, Ward No. 4, P.S. Bagha, District- West Champaran.
17. Poonam Kumari Gupta W/o Raj Kishore Prasad, R/o Khiriya Ghat, Ward
No. 4, P.S. Bairiya, District- West Champaran.
18. Badru Doja S/o Majhaharudin Sah, R/o Ward No.8, Narayanpur, P.S.
Ramnagar, District- West Champaran.
19. Shiv Shankar Pandey S/o Satyadev Pandey, R/o Hind Cinema Nagar, P.S.-
Ramnagar, District- West Champaran.
20. Gorakh Mahto S/o Sannu Mahto, R/o Village Juhari Siswariya, P.S. Sirisiya,
District- West Champaran.
Patna High Court CWJC No.8091 of 2025(2) dt.12-02-2026
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21. Md. Harun S/o Sheikh Nuruddin, R/o Ward No. 11, Dhabani, P.S. Suthi,
District- West Champaran.
22. Bhagyanarain Singh @ Bhagya Narayan Singh S/o Bhikshuk Singh, R/o
Village Dhokraha, Ward No. 11, P.S. Majhauliya, District- West Champaran.
23. Birendar Ram @ Virendra Ram S/o Ambika Ram, R/o Village Khotahwa,
P.S. Dhanha, District- West Champaran.
24. Kamalnath Rai S/o Bikram Rai, R/o New Colony Bagha, Ward No. 24, P.S
Bagha, District- West Champaran.
25. Kamlesh Upadhyay S/o Radhakant Upadhyay, R/o Village Manjhariya, P.S.
Bhairogao, District- West Champaran.
26. Birender Kumar Singh @ Virender Kumar Singh S/o Jagannath Singh, R/o
Ward No. 30, Daroga Tola, P.S. Bettiah, District- West Champaran.
27. Uday Bhanu Ram S/o Prahlad Ram, R/o Chhauni Chowk, Bettiah, P.S.
Bettiah, District- West Champaran.
28. Kumari Manisha Shrivastava W/o Vinod Kumar Verma, R/o Mohachhi
Sughar, P.S. Ghogha, District- West Champaran.
29. Shekh Sobrati S/o Sheikh Sharafat, R/o Village Jamka, P.S. Sikta, District-
West Champaran.
30. Shambhu Ram S/o Late Mangal Ram, R/o Kotuha Chautarva, Ward No.8,
P.S. Chautarva, District- West Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Education (School
Education and Literacy), Government of India, New Delhi.
2. The State of Bihar, through the Additional Chief Secretary, Education
Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.
3. The Additional Chief Secretary, Education Department, Government of
Bihar, Patna.
4. The Additional Secretary, Education Department, Government of Bihar,
Patna.
5. The Administrative Officer, Bihar Education Project Council, Shiksha
Bhawan, Rastra Bhasha Parsishad Campus, Saidpur Rajendra Nagar, Patna.
6. The District Education Officer-cum-Chairman Selection Committee, Bihar
Education Project Council, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.
7. The Director Administration-cum-Additional Secretary, Education
Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.
8. The District Magistrate, West Champaran, Bettiah.
9. The District Education Officer, West Champaran, Bettiah.
10. The Block Development Officer, Sikta, West Champaran.
11. The Block Development Officer, Bagha-1, West Champaran.
12. The Block Development Officer, Bagha-2, West Champaran.
13. The Block Development Officer, Madhubani, West Champaran.
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14. The Block Development Officer, Bettial, West Champaran.
15. The Block Development Officer, Chanpatia, West Champaran.
16. The Block Development Officer, Yogapatti, West Champaran.
17. The Block Development Officer, Maintand, West Champaran.
18. The Block Development Officer, Ramnagar, West Champaran.
19. The Block Development Officer, Bairiya, West Champaran.
20. The Block Development Officer, Piprasi, West Champaran.
21. The Block Development Officer, Nautan, West Champaran.
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Ms. Eashita Raj, Adv.
For the State : Mr. Ravi Kumar, AC to GP-13
Mr. Akshay Lal Prasad, AC to GP-13
For the BEPC : Mr. Girijish Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Akash Anand, Adv.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK KUMAR SINHA
ORAL ORDER
2 12-02-2026 Heard learned counsel, Ms. Eashita Raj on behalf of
the petitioners, learned counsel appearing for Bihar Education
Project Counsel and learned counsel appearing for respondent-
State.
2. In the present writ application the petitioner has
prayed for the grant of following reliefs:
“A. A writ in the nature of certiorari
or any other appropriate writ, order/orders, or
direction quashing the following:-
(i) The office order as contained in
Memo No. No. 55A/Quality/1091 dated
28.02.2025 issued by the District Education
Officer, West Champaran, Bettiah, ordering that
from 31.03.2025, no work from the Block
Resource Persons (Retired Teachers)
(hereinafter referred to as "BRPs") would be
taken in the light of the letter no. 10 dated
20.02.2025 by Addtional Chief Secretary,
Patna High Court CWJC No.8091 of 2025(2) dt.12-02-2026
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Education Department, Bihar, Patna, under
which the inspection work of schools were not
be taken by appointed BRPs as the said work
was to be done by Education Department and
the regular officers of Bihar Education Project.
(as contained in Annexure P/8)
B. A writ in the nature of mandamus
or any other appropriate writ, order/orders, or
direction commanding the Respondents for the
following:-
(i) To hold that the order contained in
Memo No. 55A/Quality/1091 dated 28.03.2025
issued by the District Education Officer, West
Champaran, Bettiah, as contained in Annexure
P/8, to be nullity and non-est in the eyes of law.
(ii) To restrain the Respondents from
giving effect to the order contained in Memo No.
55A/Quality/1091 dated 28.03.2025 issued by
the District Education Officer, West Champaran,
Bettiah, as contained in Annexure P/8.
(iii) To allow the Petitioners to work
as BRP at their respective places till the
retirement age of 65 years.
(iv) To hold non-taking of work from
BRP duly appointed in the light of letter no. 10
dated 20.02.2025 by the Additional Chief
Secretary, Education Department, Bihar, Patna,
to be without jurisdiction, arbitrary, malafide,
unjust and unfair terms of the decision taken by
the state government and undoing
C. To any other relief/ reliefs to
which the petitioner is found entitled to.”
3. At the outset, learned counsel appearing for
respondent parties have raised an objection with regard to
maintainability of the present writ application at the behest of an
outsource retired employee stating that undisputedly the
petitioners were not holding a civil post and were neither a
Patna High Court CWJC No.8091 of 2025(2) dt.12-02-2026
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government employee, hence the present writ application under
Article 226 is not maintainable at their behest.
4. Answering to the aforesaid objection raised by the
learned counsel appearing for respondent parties, learned
counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that she is willing
to withdraw the present writ application, if liberty is granted to
the petitioners to seek appropriate remedy available to the
petitioners under Labour Industrial Laws.
5. As prayed for by learned counsel appearing for the
petitioners, this writ application is permitted to be withdrawn
with liberty to the petitioners to seek appropriate remedy under
Labour Industrial Laws or before any appropriate forum.
6. The writ application is dismissed as withdrawn
with the liberty aforesaid.
(Alok Kumar Sinha, J)
Prakash Narayan
U
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