- (1.) THIE appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 30.8.2006, by which the learned Single Judge had been pleased to dismiss the writ petition and thus upheld the order of termination of the petitioner/appellant herein dated 1.3.1997. Consequently she was refused to be reinstated in service.
(2.) THE facts of the case disclose that the appellant herein was an Assistant Teacher in the St. Xavier's High School, Chaibasa, in the district of Singhbhum (West), Jharkhand, and a show cause notice dated 10.12.1996 was issued to her alleging that on 7.12.1996 and again on 8.12.1996, she behaved in a most indecent and high -handed manner as she picked up quarrel with the principal and other teachers of the school and used abusive language and finally she stripped herself naked, which was an outrageous and a most shocking incident to be tolerated by the school authorities. The appellant responded to the show cause, but the same was not found satisfactory and hence, a departmental proceeding was initiated against the appellant. In spite of service of notice, she defied and refused to appear before the enquiry committee; finally the enquiry concluded and an order for dismissal from service was passed against the appellant. The order of dismissal, however, was sent to the School Service Board for approval but the same was not responded either by rejecting the order of dismissal or approving the same for more than nine years. The appellant although acquiesced with the order of dismissal which had not been approved by the Board, she after a lapse of nine years, filed a writ petition before the learned Single Judge assailing the order of her dismissal. The principal ground of challenge to the order of dismissal was a technical plea to the effect that the School Service Board having not approved the order of dismissal by a written communication to the school authority, the order of dismissal ought not to be treated as final and therefore, it was fit to be set aside. It was also, inter alia, pleaded that the order of dismissal was a consequence of an enquiry, which was ex parte in nature. The learned Single Judge was pleased to dismiss the writ petition by a reasoned judgment and order dated 30.8.2006, against which this appeal has been preferred.
(3.) LEARNED counsel for the appellant reiterated the submission advanced before the learned Single Judge and submitted that since the enquiry was ex parte in nature and the order of dismissal was neither approved nor disapproved by the School Service Board, which was a mandatory condition under the rule, the order of dismissal ought not to be treated as final. He has, thus, submitted that since the order of dismissal was not approved by a written order by the Board, the same ought not to be given effect to.;