Harish Kumar, J.—Learned counsel for the petitioners is permitted to remove the defect(s), as pointed out by the office, within a period of four weeks from today.

2. Heard Mr. Ram Sagar Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Sanjay Kumar, learned AC to GP-23 for the State.

3. Two petitioners are seeking directions upon the respondents to ensure payment of their due salary for the period from 01.10.2018 to 30.09.2019 and from 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2019 respectively and also for payment of all other retiral/outstanding dues along with consequential benefits.

4. The short facts, which led to the filing of the present writ application is that in terms of the advertisement dated 17.01.1996, the petitioner no.1 was appointed as Assistant Teacher (English) vide letter dated 11.09.1999 (Annexure-1 to the writ application). Pursuant to the appointment letter, the petitioner no.1 submitted his joining in the said school on 13.09.1999.

5. The petitioner no.2 was appointed as Assistant Teacher (Math) by the Managing Committee of the High School, Mafi, Nalanda vide letter dated 19.10.1999 (Annexure-5 to the writ application) and he submitted his joining on 25.10.1999.

6. It would not be out of place to mention that both the schools were minority schools and the appointments of the petitioners were approved by the Vidyalaya Seva Board on 20.06.2001 and 17.05.2000 respectively, vide Annexures- 3 and 7 to this writ application. He further contended that after rendering a satisfactory service of about 20 years, the petitioner no.1 superannuated from service on 30.09.2019, whereas petitioner no.2 superannuated on 31.12.2019.

7. While the petitioners were in service, all of a sudden, the payment of salary of the petitioners have been stopped with effect from October, 2018 questioning the validity of B.Ed. Degree of the petitioners.

8. It is submitted that at no point of time neither any notice has been caused to be served nor any departmental proceeding was initiated against them before withholding of salary. It is also contended that similarly situated persons, namely, Bineet Prasad Singh and Surendra Prasad Sinha, whose salary were also withheld questioning the validity of their B.Ed. Degree had moved before this Court by filing C.W.J.C. No. 11116 of 2018 and C.W.J.C. No. 864 of 2020 respectively and the learned coordinate Benches of this Court have been pleased to dispose of the writ applications with a direction to pay the salary of the period, for which they have not been paid and in compliance of the order of this Court, they have been paid their salary.

9. He next submits that the appointment of the petitioners were duly approved by the Vidyalaya Seva Board and they have been allowed to discharge their duties uninterruptedly and at no point of time the validity of their degree called for, however, after having been superannuated, the impugned action of the respondents in withholding the salary and not paying the retiral benefits is wholly without jurisdiction, apart from illegal and arbitrary.

10. The aforesaid submissions of the petitioners have been vehemently confronted by the learned counsel for the State and by referring to the averments made in the counter affidavit, it is submitted that Non-Government Sogra College of Education, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda was/is not a recognized institution and departmental decision to the said effect had also been issued vide letter no. 71 dated 25.04.2014 and in such circumstances, directions to weed out and terminate such teachers, who had got appointed on the basis of fake training certificate from Non- Government Sogra College of Education, Bihar Sharif, Nalanda had been issued by the Director, Secondary Education, Bihar, Patna vide letter no. 1604 dated 29.10.2018. He further contended that the aforesaid direction of the Director, Secondary Education, Bihar, Patna had also been communicated to the respective Headmasters of petitioners’ school by the District Programme Officer (Establishment), Nala