The Patna High Court has come down firmly in favor of a retired government teacher, ruling that the Bihar Education Department's decision to withhold her full pension and retirement benefits was illegal. Justice Nani Tagia, delivering an oral Judgment on September 4, 2025, directed that the pension of petitioner Urmila Kumari, a former Assistant Craft Teacher, be restored with arrears.
Background
The case traces back to the late 1980s when Kumari was appointed as an Assistant Craft Teacher at a government girls’ school in Patna. Decades later, in 2016, her appointment was challenged as irregular on the ground of her being "overage" at the time of recruitment. Like many other terminated teachers, she initially secured relief when the High Court in 2017 set aside the termination and allowed the State to proceed afresh after giving a fair hearing.
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In 2017, a departmental proceeding was initiated against her. Even though she retired in January 2018, the inquiry was continued under Rule 43(b) of the Bihar Pension Rules, 1950, which allows post-retirement action in cases of misconduct. Eventually, in July 2021, the Regional Deputy Director of Education passed an order withholding her 100% pension, gratuity, and earned leave encashment.
Court's Observations
During the hearing, senior counsel Yogesh Chandra Verma, representing the petitioner, stressed that Rule 43(b) is limited in scope - it cannot be used for incidents older than four years before the proceeding begins. Since the allegations related to her 1989 appointment, the entire inquiry stood on shaky ground.
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The bench noted a similar case - LPA No. 866 of 2024 (Geeta Kumari v. State of Bihar) - where the High Court had already ruled that withholding pensions under Rule 43(b) for decades-old events was unlawful.
"The issue raised in the present writ petition," Justice Tagia remarked,
"is squarely covered by the judgment rendered in the LPA No. 866 of 2024."
The State's counsel, acknowledging this, conceded that the earlier ruling left little room for a contrary stance.
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Decision
The Court quashed the Education Department's order of July 12, 2021, and declared that Kumari "would be deemed to have retired from service" with full pensionary rights. The authorities have been directed to release her pension arrears within six months. If payments are delayed beyond this period, the arrears will carry 5% interest.
With this, the writ petition was allowed and disposed of.
Case Title: Urmila Kumari vs The State of Bihar & Ors.
Case No.: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 3871 of 2022
