The Punjab and Haryana high court has fined two Haryana officials over departmental inquiry and suspension of a teacher, who sought to skip Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Haryana’s Hisar following his wife’s death.
A teacher who lost his wife and was left to care for his aged mother and children sought release from additional election duty through the proper channel. “This court cannot remain oblivious to the manner in which the petitioner has been treated by the respondents. Instead of deciding his application, the respondents appointed one substitute after another without ensuring that any of them actually joined.
The teacher, Sunil Kumar works as junior basic teacher (JBT) in Barwala and was discharging duties of a booth level officer (BLO) for about 11 years. His wife died in September 2025, leaving him as the sole caregiver of his mother, aged 83, and his children.
“They then held the petitioner responsible for the default of others, replaced him, and thereafter suspended him for a duty he no longer held, on an allegation of missing a training whose date they themselves cannot state,” the court recorded.
It added that even before the court, the authorities rather than owning up to the lapses, sought to justify the action with fresh grounds which find no mention in the initial order passed against him.
