IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.12423 of 2009 SMT.KANTI DEVI SINHA, Wife of Awinash Singh, resident of New Bypass Road chamanchak, P.S.-Krishna Nagar, District-Patna, at present A.N.M. Primary Health Centre, Fathua. ………..Petitioner. Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Vikas Bhawan, Patna. 2. Joint Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bihar, Vikas Bhawan, Patna. 3. Director, Health Service (Family Welfare), Government of Bihar, Vikas Bhawan, Patna. 4. The Civil Surgeon-Cum-Chief Medical Officer, Patna. 5. The Civil Surgeon-cum-Chief Medical Officer, Nalanda. ………….Respondents ----------- 3/ 19.04.2010 I.A. No. 1428 of 2010. The relief which has been prayed by the petitioner in the main writ application and the interlocutory application is same. Her prayer is for a direction to the respondents to make payment of salary, arrears as well as current salary, stopped since 24.07.2008 on the basis of an order issued by the Civil Surgeon-cum-Chief Medical Officer, Patna, contained in Memo No. 10083 dated 14.12.2008. Petitioner was appointed on the post of A.N.M. long time back in the year 1982, since then, she is continuously working and time to time she has been transferred and posted from one place to another. During all these period, there was no whisper against the validity of her appointment but it seems that the Accountant General in its audit report dated 08.07.1990 raised some objection regarding appointment of some of the A.N.Ms. on account of such report the Department of Health, 2 Government of Bihar, vide order contained in Memo No. 766 (8) dated 07.05.2008 directed the Civil Surgeons of different places to stop making payment of salary to the concerned A.N.Ms., validity of whose appointment is going to be enquired into. In the light of order dated 07.05.2008 contained in Memo No. 766 (8), the Civil Surgeon-Cum-Chief Medical Officer, Patna, issued impugned order, contained in Memo No. 10083 dated 24.12.2008 (Annexure-9). By this very letter, an enquiry was initiated. Petitioner was directed to furnish several documents so that genuineness of her appointment can be enquired into and as per the direction, the payment of salary was stopped. The counsel for the petitioner submits that despite issuance of order dated 24.12.2008 contained in Memo No. 10083, till date, no departmental proceeding has been initiated. Petitioner has not been put under suspension and no punishment order has been imposed. She is continuously discharging her duty. The peculiarity of the condition is that, in the name of pending enquiry, payment of salary has been stopped. The decision taken by the respondent authorities for non-payment of salary to such government employees, who are discharging their duties, is totally against the service jurisprudence and the settled law in this regard. A government employee, who is discharging duties and there being no adverse order passed against the employee, on account of proven charge regarding legality of appointment, cannot be deprived 3 from receiving payment of salary. This application is being disposed of, directing the Civil Surgeon-Cum-Chief Medical Officer, Patna, to make payment of entire arrears of salary to the petitioner within four weeks from the date of production/communication of the order. Payment of salary stopped since December, 2008, must be resumed. The respondent, Civil Surgeon-Cum-Chief Medical Officer, is further directed to make payment of month to month current salary to the petitioner unless any departmental proceeding is initiated against the petitioner and the charges are proved. Unless this is not done, petitioner will be paid her salary without any obstacle. Sanjeet (Mridula Mishra, J.)