LI Network
Published on: January 25, 2024 at 17:00 IST
In a significant legal victory, the Patna High Court has ruled in favor of renowned Indian folk and classical singer Padmabhushan Sharda Sinha, overturning a government order that halted her pension and other retirement benefits.
Justice Harish Kumar, presiding over two writ petitions filed by Sharda Sinha and another LNMU professor, Dr. Uday Kant Mishra, declared that the order deeming the regularization of service illegal, issued five years after retirement, was unjustified.
The Court emphasized that if an employee has already received the benefits of regular employment, including a prescribed salary, increments, promotions leading to regularization, and unconditional superannuation with all retiral benefits, they are considered a regular holder of the post.
Justice Kumar added that the termination or cancellation of regularization should be done through statutory rules and regulations, respecting the rights vested in the employees.
The dispute arose when Lalit Narayan Mithila University (LNMU), Darbhanga, stopped the payment of monthly pension and other terminal dues for Sharda Sinha, relying on a government order.
The Court quashed the letter issued by the Education Department, Bihar, Patna, which led to the withholding of Sinha’s pay slip.
Sinha, appointed as a Lecturer in the Music Department at Women’s College, Samastipur, in 1977, faced delays in her absorption under the 3rd Absorption Statute. However, in 2016, the University approved her service regularization as an Assistant Professor. She received promotions and had her pay scale revised until her superannuation in 2017.
Unexpectedly, in February 2023, the Director of Higher Education, Government of Bihar, issued an order withholding Sinha’s payslip and stopping her salary.
The Court, citing the case of Secretary, State of Karnataka and Others v. Uma Devi (2006), stressed that any regularization already made, not under litigation, need not be reopened. It criticized the impugned order for being unjustified, lacking proper proceedings, and violating the principles of natural justice.
The Patna High Court ruled that the regularization of services, deemed illegal after five years of retirement, without proper proceedings or compliance with natural justice, was unwarranted.
The Court underscored the importance of adhering to the principles of natural justice and condemned any order causing prejudice to an individual’s rights without a fair hearing.
As a result, the court allowed the pleas, offering relief to Padmabhushan Sharda Sinha and Dr. Uday Kant Mishra.
Case Title: Dr. Uday Chandra Mishra vs. The State of Bihar