JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Shri Ravi Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Sandeep Sharma, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State-respondents.

2. The petitioner-Shri Arvind Kumar Pandey while holding the post of Joint Director of Education, Ayodhya Division, Ayodhya has filed the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking quashing of the order dated 15.04.2023 for placing him under suspension under Rule 4 of the Uttar Pradesh Government Servant (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as “Rules, 1999”) and instituting the disciplinary proceedings against him. The petitioner has also challenged the order dated 18.04.2023 whereby the charge of Joint Director of Education, Ayodhya Division, Ayodhya has been given as an additional charge to Shri Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Divisional Joint Director, Kanpur.

3. The petitioner had allegedly in abuse and misuse of his power for extraneous consideration had regularized 122 teachers who were illegally appointed by the Committees of Management of several schools/colleges after 07.08.1993, and these teachers were drawing salary only on the strength of interim orders passed by this Court in respect of payment of salary to such teachers. The petitioner allegedly in criminal conspiracy with the Committees of Management of several schools/colleges for extraneous consideration and against the notification dated 22.03.2016 had regularized the services of the said 122 teachers.

4. Against these illegal regularizations, one Shri Shashi Kant Pandey, Assistant Teacher, P.D. Inter College, Sonyasa, Rasoolabad, Ayodhya gave a complaint vide letter dated 05.12.2022 and another complaint dated 20.01.2023 made by Shri Shailesh Kumar Singh, Assistant Teacher, resident of Village Kopa, Post-Alipur, District- Sultanpur was also received by the State Government in respect of illegal regularization of teachers by the petitioner.

5. The State Government with a view to find out the correctness, veracity and genuineness of the aforesaid two complaints, vide order dated 20.01.2023 directed the Commissioner, Ayodhya Division, Ayodhya to get the allegations labeled against the petitioner in the aforesaid two complaints enquired. The Commissioner, Ayodhya Division, Ayodhya vide letter dated 27.02.2023 constituted a Three Members Enquiry Committee comprising of (1) Shri Sunil Kumar Shukla, Additional Commissioner (Administration), (2) Shri Neeraj Srivastava, Additional Director, Treasury and Pension, Ayodhya Division, Ayodhya and (3) Shri Arvind Kumar John, Joint Development Commissioner, Ayodhya for making an enquiry into the allegations in two complaints against the petitioner and for submission of a report.

6. The Three Members Enquiry Committee in its report dated 03.03.2023 concluded that Shri Arvind Kumar Pandey-petitioner had regularized such teachers who were getting salary in compliance of interim orders passed by this Court. It was also noticed that as per the notification dated 22.03.2016, the State Government had directed that the teachers who were not appointed in accordance with the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Service Commission (Removal of Difficulties) Order 1981 or as per Section 18 of the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education (Services Selection Boards) Act, 1982 would not be entitled for regularization. The petitioner had not adhered to the said directions issued by the State Government and had regularized the services of teachers who were illegally appointed by the managements.

7. The petitioner in a well strategic move cancelled the regularization of 34 teachers under his signatures without following the prescribed procedure and without constituting a committee so that these 34 teachers would get relief from the High Court. It appears that as per the well thought out strategies of the petitioner, these 34 teachers had obtained relief from this Court against the orders passed by the petitioner cancelling their regularization without following