The court set aside a lower court order directing the Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board to correct a degree certificate in favor of the respondent, as a subsequent inquiry established that the respondent had not appeared for the exam and submitted forged documents.
Order of single judge directing certificate correction is set aside.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Letters Patent Appeal No.156 of 2021 In
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.13645 of 2019
======================================================
... ... Appellant/s
Versus
Suminta Devi W/o Tarun Kumar R/o Village-Telari Tola, Kashibigha, Block and P.S.- Nimchak Bathani, District- Gaya.
... ... Respondent/s
====================================================== Appearance : For the Appellant/s : Mr.Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Adv. For the Respondent/s : Mr.Sanjay Kumar, Adv.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NAWNEET KUMAR PANDEY ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR)
Date : 05-12-2022
Heard Mr. Satyam Shivam Sundaram, learned
advocate for the Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board and Mr. Sanjay
Kumar for the respondent.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.156 of 2021 dt.05-12-2022 2/5
The Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board has appealed against the order dated 08.07.2019 passed by the learned
Single Judge in CWJC No. 13645 of 2019, directing the Board to make necessary correction in the certificate of the respondent within a period of thirty days or pay a cost of Rs. 50,000/-.
It was the claim of the respondent/Suminta Devi that the Board had committed an error in issuing a certificate, meant for the respondent, but issued in the name of one Soni Kumari. This error was sought to be corrected.
The claim of the respondent that she was the real candidate, who had passed the examination, entitling her to get the certificate of a degree, was rested on the admit card issued by the Sanskrit Shiksha Board which is in the name of the respondent/Suminta Devi.
Relying on such statement and evidence in the shape of admit card issued by the Board, the learned
Patna High Court L.P.A No.156 of 2021 dt.05-12-2022 3/5
Single Judge directed the Board to carry out necessary correction in the certificate.
Mr. Sundaram, learned advocate for the Board however has submitted that merely on the statement of the respondent, such an order was passed without any verification whether the respondent had actually appeared in the examination or was even enrolled in any school.
On the submission of the learned counsel for the
Board that the name of the respondent (Suminta Devi) was nowhere to be found in the records of the Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board and the admit card as well as the registration receipt appeared to be forged, an enquiry was entrusted by this Court vide order dated 10.10.2022 to the Special Director, Secondary Education, Government of Bihar for ascertaining the correctness of the respective stand of the parties. The Board was directed to provide all the logistics and facilitate the Special Director to come to a definitive finding whether the claim of the respondent is
Patna High Court L.P.A No.156 of 2021 dt.05-12-2022 4/5
genuine or she has rested her claim on forged and fabricated documents.
A detailed report has been sent by the Special
Director which is kept at Flag-’X’.
The Special Director has found that the
respondent/Suminta Devi had never appeared in the Madhyama examination in the year 2014 and that the documents furnished by her before this Court is absolutely forged and fabricated. No person by the name of Suminta Devi was enrolled as a student in Vaidik Sahitya Sanskrit High School, Atasarai, Islampur in the district of Nalanda.
Considering the aforenoted report of the Special Director which has not been rebutted by the counsel for the respondent, we deem it appropriate to set aside the order passed by the learned Single Judge who had directed
the Board to carry out correction in the certificate of Soni Kumari and making it a certificate in favour of Suminta Devi.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.156 of 2021 dt.05-12-2022 5/5
Accordingly, the order passed by the learned
Single Judge is set aside.
The appeal stands allowed.
We have not directed for any further action in the
matter for the reason that the issue is an old one and that
the respondent is a lady.
(Ashutosh Kumar, J)
( Nawneet Kumar Pandey, J)
rishi/-
| AFR/NAFR | NAFR |
|---|---|
| CAV DATE | NA |
| Uploading Date | 07.12.2022 |
| Transmission Date |
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the order directing correction of degree certificate on mere allegation without verification was sustainable in light of fabrication of documents.
The Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board and others
Suminta Devi
Ashutosh Kumar
Nawneet Kumar Pandey
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
