The dismissal of a government employee for providing counterfeit educational documents and a criminal conviction is justified when supported by an inquiry report confirming the documents' inauthenticity.

JUDGMENT AND ORDER :

DEVASHIS BARUAH, J.

Heard Mr. H.H. Kinimi, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, and Ms. S. Mere, learned Sr. Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent nos. 1 to 4.

2. The petitioner herein is aggrieved by the dismissal of the petitioner from service vide Order dated 21.09.2023 as well as the rejection of the appeal filed thereafter. The petitioner also has sought for a direction that a fresh inquiry be held pertaining to the authenticity of the petitioner’s educational documents.

3. The question as to whether the case set up by the petitioner merits consideration can only be seen from a perusal of the facts which led to the filing of the instant writ petition and the respective pleadings exchanged between the parties.

4. As it would be seen from the perusal of the writ petition that vide Order dated 06.06.2002, the petitioner was initially appointed as an Ad- hoc Hindi Teacher under the establishment of the Directorate of School Education, Nagaland. Subsequent thereto, the petitioner’s services were terminated vide an Order dated 04.06.2007. However, subsequently, on 27.08.2008 the petitioner was again reinstated. The record reveals that the petitioner filed a writ petition which was registered and numbered as WP(C) No.194(K)/2012 seeking regularization of his services. This Court vide an Order dated 05.09.2013 dismissed the said writ petition without prejudice to the petitioner to obtain further clarification/certificate from the affiliated college/university and submit the same to the Education Department. This Court further observed that in the eventuality genuine documents are submitted, the case of the petitioner be considered in terms with the Office Memorandum dated 23.08.2007.

5. While the said writ petition being WP(C) No.194(K)/2012 was pending, the Director, Directorate of School Education had sought for certain clarification in respect to the documents submitted by the petitioner from the Principal, Rashtriya Bhasha Hindi Training Institute, Hindi Nagar, Padam Pukhuri, Dimapur on 22.05.2012. The Principal, Rashtriya Bhasha Hindi Training Institute gave a report that the petitioner was a student of the said institute and passed his Parichaya Examination in the year 1997.

6. It is the further case of the petitioner that on 05.02.2014, the Principal of Rashtriya Bhasha Hindi College also issued another certificate that the petitioner was a private student of the Institute and had passed his rd Parichaya Examination as a private candidate in February 1997 in 3 Division bearing Roll No. 1431, conducted by the Rashtriya Bhasha Prachar Samiti Wardha, Maharashtra. The petitioner, on the basis of these documents submitted before the respondent authorities, sought for regularization.

7. Subsequent thereto, the respondent no. 3 vide an Order dated 18.07.2014 appointed two Officers of the Department as Inquiry Officers to physically verify the genuineness of the petitioner’s documents and to clarify as to how the letter dated 22.05.2012 issued by the Principal RBHTI, Dimapur and the letter dated 11.08.2009 issued by RBPS, Hindi Nagar, Wardha are contradictory to each other. Pursuant to the said inquiry conducted, the respondent no. 4 submitted a written reply on 18.08.2014 stating inter alia that upon verification and proper scrutiny of records, it was found that the petitioner was never a student of the Institute and sought for withdrawal of the letter dated 22.05.2012 and the same be treated as cancelled.

8. On the basis thereof, the Inquiry Committee submitted a report on 11.09.2014 stating inte