The Allahabad High Court has directed to immediately relieve nursing officer, Nitin Kumar, from Sir Sunderlal Hospital of Banaras Hindu University.
A Single Bench of Justice J.J Munir passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Nitin Kumar.
The grievance of the petitioner is that the respondentBHU are not relieving him, despite the order dated 03.06.2024 passed in purported compliance of the order dated 30.05.2024.
He has, therefore, filed an application under Article 215 of the Constitution of India, being Civil Misc Contempt Application No 2 of 2024. Going by the Rules of Court, the Bench does not hold determination over contempt matters and we cannot entertain an application to punish for contempt. Of course, the petitioner has a right to prosecute the individual functionaries of the respondent-BHU, if he thinks they are in contempt of our orders dated 30.05.2024 in the manner advised.
So far as the Court is concerned, the Court proceed to treat Civil Misc Contempt Application as an application for ‘wrongdoer’ in order to carry out our orders dated 30.05.2024, which it appears that the respondent-BHU are bent upon flouting by resort to subterfuge and sharp tactics.
On one hand, to make a show of compliance, they have passed the order dated 03.06.2024, saying that the petitioner’s resignation from the post of a Nursing Officer in Sir Sunderlal Hospital, BHU has been accepted from the date of relieving, but, have added a condition to it that it would be “subject to realization of University dues outstanding, if any, against you”.
Now, during all the earlier hearings, this point was never made that the petitioner had some outstandings of the University to pay.
Again, during the hearing on June 06, Hem Pratap Singh has placed before the Court a copy of a office memo dated 05.06.2024 signed by the Deputy Registrar and CAO, Sir Sunderlal Hospital, BHU, which shows the total outstandings to be paid by the petitioner is a sum of ₹5,51,434.
The petitioner says that he has to join his new employment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna latest by 15.06.2024. He has been sent an e-mail dated 18.05.2024, saying that the last date for joining would be on or before 15.06.2024. Any further delay would make the petitioner lose his job that he has got with the AIIMS, Patna.
The last minute surprise that the respondent-University has sprung for the petitioner, serving him with an outstanding of ₹5,51,434 may well hinder the petitioner in being relieved from employment of the BHU and joining at Patna. By the time he is able to arrange the requisite funds to pay off outstanding or to show that these outstandings are, in fact, not due, the petitioner would forfeit his opportunity to join the services of the AIIMS, Patna.
The Court noted that this is precisely what the respondent-BHU wanted and that is why they have come up with this claim at this juncture. The Court does not appreciate this conduct of the respondent-BHU at all, for, during the earlier hearings, this stand was never taken. Earlier, the BHU was not prepared to accepted the petitioner’s resignation and they have accepted it pursuant to our orders dated 30.05.2024, but in a clever manoeuvre, attempted to defeat it by springing up this demand, which a man of modest means may not be able to meet all of a sudden.
In the totality of circumstances, the Court ordered that the petitioner shall forthwith stand relieved from the services of the BHU and shall be free to join the services of the AIIMS, Patna, subject to the condition that he will submit his objections, if any, to the demand that the BHU makes on or before 25.06.2024. The authorities of the BHU, after hearing the petitioner, will pass an order determining the demand. The petitioner shall have a month’s time to pay off from the date when orders are passed by the BHU, determining the demand finally and settling all accounts. In the event, the petitioner does not make good the dues that are found to be payable by him to the respondent-BHU, it will be open to the respondents to make an application in the petition, praying that the dues be recovered from the petitioner as arrears of land revenue.
In terms of the aforesaid orders, the Court allowed the application.