Employment based on forged educational certificates is void ab initio, and principles of natural justice do not apply if the facts are undisputed.

ORAL JUDGMENT

Order No.05 : Dated 7 th August, 2023

 Per Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

 Mr. Rajeeva Sharma, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants, at the outset, has submitted that so far as defect No.9 pointed out by the office which pertains to not adding Petitioner No.30 of the writ petition as party to the instant proceeding is concerned, the same may be ignored since he could not contact Writ Petitioner No.30 Pawla Murmu.

02. In view of such submission, the defect No.9, pointed out by the office, is hereby ignored.

03. The instant intra-court appeal, preferred under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent, is directed against the order/judgment dated 17.11.2022 passed by learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(S) No.192 of 2017 whereby and whereunder the learned Single Judge while dismissing the writ petition has refused to interfere with the order passed by the Administrative Authority dated 02.07.2016 by which the services of the writ petitioners have been terminated on the ground that the certificate, based upon which appointment has been provided, subsequently on enquiry has been found to be not proper.

04. Brief facts of the case as per the pleadings made in the writ proceeding, which are required to be enumerated herein, read as under :-

It is the case of the appellants that they have joined the service as Para teacher on the strength of Intermediate pass certificate/Visharad certificate issued by Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, 188 Bahadurganj, Allahabad and while they were working on the post of Para Teacher, all of a sudden, respondent District Superintendent of Education-cum-District Programme Officer, Jharkhand Education Project, Sahibganj, vide impugned order no.466 dated 02.07.2016 pursuant to the decision taken by District Executive Committee, Sahibganj dated 04.06.2016, terminated the services of all the petitioners from the post of Para Teacher and proposed for initiation of criminal proceedings against them on the ground that on enquiry it was found that the educational certificate of the petitioners are forged and fabricated as per memo no.3198/03 dated 21.03.2016 received from Hindi Sahitiya Sammelan, Prayag 12, Sammelan Marg, Allahabad which has reported that there is no any Additional Office/Branch of this University either in Allahabad or in any other part of the Country.

05. F.I.R. was also lodged against some of the petitioners, namely, Meera Kumari and Lal Malto vide Barhait P.S. Case No.67/2016 dated 01.08.2016.

06. It is the further case of the appellants that they have made representation on 01.09.2016 to the Deputy Commissioner, Sahibganj and representation dated 07.06.2016 to the member of Legislative Assembly in which they have raised their grievances that the documents relating to their educational qualifications should be enquired from Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, Additional Office, 188, Bahadurganj, Allahabad, but no enquiry has been made.

07. Thereafter, the writ petitioners moved before this Court by filing writ petition being W.P.(S) No.192 of 2017 challenging the impugned order dated 02.07.2016 on the ground that no show-cause notice has been issued to any of the petitioners and that the impugned order dated 02.07.2016 has been issued behind the back of the petitioner.

08. The petitioners have also taken specific stand in their representations that the educational qualifications of the petitioners have been issued by Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, 188 Bahadurganj, Allahabad and not from Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag 12, Sammelan Marg, Allahabad and, therefore, the educational qualifications of the petitioners have been verified from wrong address i.e. at 12, Sammelan Marg, Allahabad.

09. The ground has also been taken that the impugned order does not say that the documents relating to educational qualifications of the petitioners are forged or fabricated.

10. The respondent State has appeared and submitted that the State verified the genuineness of the certificates and degrees of pe