Patna High Court
Lal JhaversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- ALLOWED
- Bench
- HARISH KUMAR
Holding
The impugned orders declaring the appointment illegal and stopping the pension are set aside, and the widow's pension benefits are to be restored.
Summary
The petitioner, a widow of a deceased lecturer, challenged a 2023 memo that declared her late husband's appointment illegal and consequently stopped her family pension. The petitioner sought quashing of that memo and the subsequent order halting pension payments. The court noted that the same appointment had been regularized in 2016 and that a prior judgment (CWJC No. 9131 of 2022) had already set aside similar orders for identically situated persons. Since the earlier decision was binding and the respondents had not shown any distinction, the court found no merit in maintaining the impugned orders. Accordingly, the court set aside both the 2023 memo and the pension stoppage order and directed the respondents to restore all pension benefits and arrears within eight weeks.
Issues considered
- Whether the appointment of the deceased employee was illegal for not being made against a vacant sanctioned post and for not following the due selection process.
- Whether the earlier judgment in CWJC No. 9131 of 2022 setting aside similar orders is applicable to the present petition.
- Whether the respondents can lawfully discontinue the widow's family pension and related benefits.
Subjects
- pension
- family pension
- superannuation
- appointment irregularities
- selection process
- writ petition
- quashing order
- precedent
- administrative law
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.8243 of 2024
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Lal Jha W/o Late Birendra Nath @ Birendra Nath Jha, Resident of- Near
D.A.V. School, 103, Madhukans, Plot No. 133/134, Sec-10, New Panvel,
Panvel Raigad, Maharashtra.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through Additional Chief Secretary, Education
Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
2. Additional Chief Secretary, Education Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
3. The Director, Higher Education, Govt. of Bihar, New Secretariat, Patna.
4. The Vice- Chancellor, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga.
5. The Registrar, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga.
6. The Finance Officer, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga.
7. The Principal, B.M. College, Rahika, District- Madhubani.
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shashi Bhushan Singh, Adv.
For the State : Mr. S.D. Yadav, AAG-9
Mr. Anil Kumar Verma, AC to AAG-9
For the L.N.M.U. : Mr. Bindhyachal Rai, Adv.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH KUMAR
ORAL JUDGMENT
Date : 27-01-2026
Heard Mr. Shashi Bhushan Singh, learned Advocate
for the petitioner, Mr. S.D. Yadav, learned Advocate for the State
and Mr. Bindhyachal Rai, learned Advocate for the L.N.
Mithila, University.
2. A very sorry state of affairs has been placed before
this Court. The petitioner, who is a hapless widow of erstwhile
employee, namely, Birendra Nath @ Birendra Nath Jha, has
approached this Court seeking quashing of the Memo no.594
Patna High Court CWJC No.8243 of 2024 dt.27-01-2026
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dated 20.02.2023 issued under the signature of respondent no.3,
whereby the appointment of the husband of the petitioner along
with some others has been held illegal. The petitioner also
sought quashing of the consequential order contained in Memo
no.SC/48/23 dated 22.02.2023 issued by the respondent no.5,
whereby the payment of pension and other benefits have been
stopped in view of the afore-noted letters.
3. Brief facts as required for adjudication of the
matter, are as follows:-
4. Admittedly, the husband of the petitioner was
appointed against the second post of Lecturer in the year 1978,
to be more specific on 30.11.1978, in the Department of
Philosophy, Bharti Mandal College, Rahika, Madhubani, on the
recommendation of the Selection Committee constituted by the
Governing Body of the College. Later on, based upon the
recommendation of Three Men Committee, his service was
regularized by the order of Hon’ble Chancellor under Memo
No.3652-61/62 dated 26.09.2016 after due approval of the
Syndicate. The husband of the petitioner, after serving more
than 25 years, came to be superannuated on 31.07.2003 and has
been allowed pension and other benefits. Unfortunately, the
petitioner’s husband died on 10.10.2014 and thereafter the
Patna High Court CWJC No.8243 of 2024 dt.27-01-2026
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petitioner has been getting family pension uninterruptedly. All
of a sudden, after two decades of the retirement of erstwhile
employee, the respondent no.3 came up with the impugned
order as contained in Memo no.594 dated 20.02.2023, whereby
it is said that the appointment of the petitioner’s husband along
with other 16 persons were not made against the vacant and
sanctioned posts by following the due selection process and
their cases are not in terms with paragraph-44 of the
Constitution Bench of the Apex Court rendered in the case of
Secretary, State of Karnataka & Ors. v. Uma Devi & Ors.
[2006 (4) SCC 1].
5. The afore-noted impugned order was also put to
question by some of the identically situated persons in CWJC
No. 9131 of 2022 along with another analogus case. Both the
writ petitions were heard by this Court and finally the impugned
order came to be set aside vide order dated 12.01.2024, so far as
it relates to the petitioners of the said cases.
6. A counter affidavit on behalf of respondents no.1 to
3 has been filed on 08.07.2024. But this Court is appalled to see
that there is no discussion with respect to the order passed by
this Court dated 12.01.2024 in CWJC No. 9131 of 2022,
whereby the impugned order dated 20.02.2023 has already been
Patna High Court CWJC No.8243 of 2024 dt.27-01-2026
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set aside with respect to other identically situated persons. The
counter affidavit has been filed in support of the impugned order
contained in Memo no. 594 dated 20.02.2023 on the identical
grounds that the very appointment of the petitioner’s husband
was not made against the sanctioned post and without following
the due selection process and thus her regularization as well as
her appointment was bad. It has further been stated in para-19
that the order passed in CWJC No. 9131 of 2022 and analogous
case is not applicable in the present writ petition. However, the
respondent(s) has not clarified as to why the same is not
applicable when the case of the petitioner is exactly similar to
those in whose favour the order has been passed and the
impugned order has been set aside.
7. This Court has also been apprised that the
Committee consisting of five senior officers, headed by the
Chief Secretary of the State of Bihar, has also taken a decision
to ensure the compliance of the order of this Court passed in
CWJC No. 9131 of 2022 along with another analogus case and
the consequential benefits have been accorded accordingly to
the petitioners of the said writ petition(s).
8. Having considered the submissions advanced by
the respective parties and taking note of the fact that the
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impugned order contained in Memo no.594 dated 20.02.2023
issued under the signature of the respondent no.3 as well as the
consequential orders have already been set aside with respect to
the identically situated persons, there is no need for further
adjudication of the matter. No such order would sustain against
an employee who had already been superannuated two decades
ago and died nine years before the impugned order is passed.
Accordingly, the impugned order as contained in Memo no.594
dated 20.02.2023 passed by the respondent no.3 as well as
Memo no. SC/48/23 dated 22.02.2023 passed by the respondent
no.5, are hereby set aside.
9. The respondents are directed to extend all the
consequential benefits, including the arrears of pension to the
petitioner forthwith, in any case within eight weeks.
10. The writ petition stands allowed.
(Harish Kumar, J)
rohit/-
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE NA
Uploading Date 29-01-2026
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