IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.16068 of 2005 RAM NARESH PRASAD SAH @ NARESH s/o late Ram Pragas Sah, resident of village- Janta, P.S. Gayghat, District- Muzaffarpur. Versus 1. THE STATE OF BIHAR. 2. Director, Primary Education, Government of Bihar, Patna. 3. District Superintendent of Education, Muzaffarpur. 4. Area Education Officer, Gayghat, Muzaffarpur. 5. Block Education Extension Officer, Muraul, District Muzaffarpur, ----------- 4 29.3.2011 Heard both the parties and with their consent this application is being disposed of at this stage itself. The petitioner had filed this writ petition on 24.12.2005 with a prayer for direction to the respondent- State for payment of arrears of salary for the period 16.8.1994 to 14.6.2000 ,in which period the petitioner remained suspended. A counter affidavit was filed, in this case, in the year 2006 wherein it was stated that a departmental proceeding was contemplated to be initiated with appointment of enquiry officer on 29.4.2006 and depending on the said proceeding, decision would be taken. Learned counsel for the petitioner points out that the petitioner charged of being involved in a criminal case, not including his service with the State, he was suspended , which suspension was ultimately revoked on 14.6.2000 and after the order of this Court in CWJC No. 9945 of 1999, which was disposed of on 11.5.2000, for the period under suspension i.e. from 16.8.1994 to 14.6.2000, the petitioner was only paid subsistence allowance. Upon revocation of suspension, he represented for payment of full amount, which failed to get response - 2 - from the respondents even after ten years. The petitioner then filed the present writ application, after which the respondents woke up and then decided to initiate a departmental proceeding, which was solely based upon the criminal case in which the petitioner was implicated but again thereafter the department went into deep slumber . Petitioner kept represented but nothing came out of it. An interlocutory application has been filed wherein the charge sheet in the departmental proceeding has been annexed, which essentially is with regard to the criminal case and the petitioner’s absence because of that. It is further stated in the interlocutory application that by judgment dated 29.9.2010, the learned 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffarpur has acquitted the petitioner after full-fledged trial while convicting others. Thus, there remains no criminal case. The facts, noted above, would show that the criminal case was initiated in the year 1993 because of which for six years, the petitioner remained under suspension from 1994 to 2000 without any departmental proceeding being initiated . After the writ petition was filed in the year 2005, a departmental proceeding based on criminal case was sought to be initiated, which is again a non-starter. The petitioner, in my view, rightly submits that only to deny the rightful wages/ remuneration for the period under suspension it is being done. Be that as it may, as the criminal case itself has ended in the acquittal of the petitioner, in my view, nothing remains to be done. The departmental proceeding itself becomes non est and accordingly the - 3 - petitioner is entitled to full remuneration for the period 16.8.1994 to 14.6.2000. It is accordingly so ordered. It shall be the responsibility of the District Superintendent of Education, Muzaffarpur to ensure that full wages/remuneration of the petitioner are paid within three months from the date of production of a copy of this order before him , failing which the same would have to be paid along with simple interest at the rate of 8% per annum from the time when the payment was due to the time when the payments are paid. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition is allowed. singh (Navaniti Prasad Singh,J)