HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Writ Petition No. 356 of 2022 (S/S) Anubhav Gupta ….......Petitioner Vs. Director, Primary Education, State of Uttarakhand and others …..... Respondents Present : Mr. Alok Kumar, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. N.S. Pundir, Deputy Advocate General for the State of Uttarakhand/respondents. JUDGMENT Hon’ble Ravindra Maithani, J. (Oral) The challenge in this petition is made to the order dated 09.02.2022, passed by the respondent no.4, by which, the petitioner has been put under suspension. 2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 3. The petitioner is an Assistant Teacher in Government Primary School. In the process of verification of educational qualification, with regard to documents submitted by the petitioner, an inquiry was contemplated. The petitioner was placed under suspension on 18.03.2021. The Inquiry Committee submitted its report on 08.10.2021 and found that the documents submitted by the petitioner are genuine and a recommendation was made that his suspension may be revoked. On 2 13.10.2021, the suspension of the petitioner was revoked and he was required to join his duties which he did on 16.10.2021. But again, by the impugned order, he was placed under suspension. These facts were noticed by this Court initially when the matter was taken up and the operation of the suspension order was kept in abeyance. Now, the State has also filed counter affidavit. It does not reveal anything. Simply, it supports the averments that have been made by the petitioner in connection with the first suspension order dated 18.03.2021. It is undisputed that earlier also the petitioner was placed under suspension, inquiry was conducted and his suspension was revoked and he had joined the duties. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that once inquiry had already been completed by the department qua the petitioner and again the suspension order has been passed without any reason. 5. The Court today, wanted to know from the learned State counsel, as to what has been done post to the impugned suspension order? Has any inquiry been completed? Or; is underway? And; if it is so, what are the averments in the counter affidavit? 3 6. He would submit that a written instruction has been received. The written instruction is taken on record. 7. Learned State counsel would submit that the counter affidavit has been filed in the year 2022. Thereafter, the case has been listed today. He would submit that, as per instructions received from Sri Ashutosh Bhandari, District Education Officer, respondent no.4, inquiry has not proceeded in the matter because the suspension order was stayed by the Court. 8. This Court has not stayed any departmental proceeding that was ever contemplated against the petitioner. What the Court did is just kept the suspension order in abeyance. The reason for it was that earlier also on the similar ground the petitioner was suspended on 18.03.2021 and an inquiry was conducted, of which, the report was given on 08.10.2021 and the suspension was revoked. 9. On a similar issue, the petitioner was earlier suspended. The inquiry was conducted, in which, it was found that the certificates are genuine and thereafter, by the order dated 13.10.2021, the suspension order was revoked and he joined his services on 16.10.2021. The impugned suspension order was passed on 09.02.2022. It 4 is more than three years now. The inquiry has yet not initiated. There is no reason to ascertain anything more except to quash the suspension order. Accordingly, the petition deserves to be allowed. 10. The petition is allowed. 11. The impugned suspension order is set aside. (Ravindra Maithani, J.) 18.03.2025 Sanjay