BASANTI PRASAD versus THE CHAIRMAN,BIHAR SCHOOL EXAMINATION BOARD AND OTHERS

Citation: [2009] 9 S.C.R. 367 · Decided: 14-05-2009 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: TARUN CHATTERJEE, H.L. DATTU · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this case
Judgment (excerpt)

[2009J 9 S.C.R. 367 
BASANTI PRASAP 
A 
v. 
THE CHAIRMAN, BIHAR SCHOOL EXAMINATION BOARD 
AND OTHERS 
(Civil appeal No. 3564 of 2009) 
MAY 14, 2009 
B 
:"-
[TARUN CHAITERJEE AND H.L. DAITU, JJ.] 
Service law - Retiral benefits - Claim of - Conviction 
order against employee under the provisions of Penal Code c 
-
Termination of service during pendency of appeal -
Thereafter, death of employee - Subsequently order of 
acquittal passed - Representation by employee's wife 
seeking retiral benefits, rejection of - Writ petition seeking 
monetary and service benefits as also interim application 
D 
seeking quashing of termination order - Dismissal of - LPA 
also dismissed - On appeal, held: Order of High Court not 
justified - Employee was dismissed on basis of conviction 
order - No departmental enquiry was held against delinquent 
employee -
There was no negligence or /aches or E 
acquiescence on part of petitioner- Employee could not have 
questioned the dismissal till he was acquitted - Conviction 
order has been set aside by s(.Jperior forum and has become 
final - Writ court should have exercised its extraordinary 
jurisdiction by directing the employer to redress the grievance 
F 
of petitioner -
Thus, matter should be remanded back -
However, litigation Is pending for last one decade and 
petitioner is a poor widow - Dismissal order is set aside without 
back wages - Petitioner is only entitled to pension. 
G.M. Tank v State of Gujarat (2006) 5 SCC 446, Relied 
G 
on. 
Moon Mills Ltd. vs. M. R. Mehar, President, Industrial 
Court AIR 1967 SC 1450; Maharashtra State Road Transport 
367 
H 
368 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2009] 9 S.C.R. 
A Corporation vs. Ba/want Regular Motor Service (1969) 1 SCR 
808; State of Madhya Pradesh vs. Nandlal Jaiswal (1986) 4 
SCC 566 and Shri Vallabh Glass Works Ltd. vs. Union of 
India (1984) 3 SCC 362, referred to. 
B 
Lindsay Petroleum Co. v. Prosper Armstrong Hurd 
Abram Farewall and John Kemp (1874) 5 PC 221, referred 
to. 
Case Law Reference: 
c 
AIR 1967 SC 1450 
Referred to. 
Para 15 
(1969) 1 SCR 808 
~eferred to. 
Para 15 
(1874) 5 PC 221 
Referred to. 
Para 15 
(1986) 4 sec 566 
Referred to. 
Para 16 
D 
(1984) 3 sec 362 
Referred to. 
Para 17 
(2006) 5 sec 446 
Relied on. 
Para 22 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 
E 3564 of 2009. 
From the Judgment & Order dated 12.07.2007 of the High 
Court of Judicature at Patna in LP.A. No. 521 of 2007. 
Ranjan Mukherjee for the Appellants. 
F 
Gopal Singh, Manish Kumar and Rohan Cama for the 
Respondents. 
The order of the Court was delivered by 
G 
ORDER 
1. Leave granted. 
2. This is a petition for special leave to appeal under 
Article 136 of the Constitution from the judgment and order 
H 
~
•
I 
.\<: 
.... 
~ 
J-1' 
BASANTI PRASAD v. CHAIRMAN, BIHAR SCHOOL 369 
EXAMINATION BOARD AND ORS. 
~ 
dated 12.7.2007 of the High Court of Judicature at Patna in 
A 
< 
='-. 
LP.A No. 521 of 2007. By the impugned judgment, the High 
Court has dismissed the appeal. 
3. The relevant facts are, the appellant is the wife of 
deceased Bhrigu Ashram Prasad. While he was alive, he was 8 
working as an Assistant in Bihar School Examination Board. 
"' 
4. Sometime in the year 1976, the appellant's husband was 
kept under suspension on account of initiation of criminal 
t 
proceedings against the appellant's husband and other 
. 
employees of the Board for tempering with the Marks Sheets c 
' 
---f 
of several candidates who had appeared in the Annual 
>._. 
Secondary School Examination. 
5. On the complaint filed by the Board, the jurisdictional 
>( 
police authorities had filed charge sheet against the appellant's D 
husband and other employees of the Board under Section 420, 
467, 471, 458 and 120-B of the l.P .C. before Judicial 
="I 
Magistrate, Patna. After the trial, the Judicial Magistrate had 
convicted the appellant's husband and other employees of the 
Board for the offences alleged in the charge sheet and 
E 
sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two 
years for each of the offences under Section 467, 468, 471 and 
120-B of the 1.P.C. by his order dated 7.2.1989. 
" 
6. The appellant's husband and other charge sheeted 
employees had filed Criminal Appeals before the Additional 
F 
Sessions Judge, Patna, being aggrieved by the order passed 
by the Judicial Magistrate, Patna. 
7. While the appeals were pending for consideration, the 
Bihar School Examination Committee, Patna, by its order G 
dated 4th August, 1992, ter
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.