HC puts on hold edu dept’s order to freeze bank accounts of varsities

The Patna High Court on Friday put in abeyance the controversial order of Bihar’s education department order to freeze bank accounts of all the state universities, which had led to stoppage of salary payment to thousands of teachers and employees and pension to the retired staff, besides affecting exams and other routine activities.

Hearing a bunch of petitions filed by the Magadh Universiry and other state universities against the department’s order earlier this year to freeze bank accounts, the bench of Justice Anjani Kumar Sharan put the freeze order in abeyance till further order, clearing the decks for salary and pension payment.

The bench also said that “no coercive actions shall be taken against the universities and their officials till further orders”.

The court wanted the impasse to end with an amicable solution.

“In course of arguments, advocate general and additional solicitor general jointly proposed that a meeting of all the VCs along with registrars, exam controllers and financial advisors, and officials of the department of education, government of Bihar, including the additional chief secretary, may take place at a neutral venue on May 6 at Maurya Hotel, Patna, and the expenses of the meeting will be borne by the state government. It is a goodwill gesture to resolve the disputes amicably,” said the judge.

The court also made it clear that nobody would preside over the meeting. “It is expected that if chief secretary of Bihar remains free on that day, he may preside over the aforesaid meeting. In case he cannot find time, the meeting would take place and all the issues would be discussed in a proper manner. Entire proceedings of the meeting would be video-graphed,” said the order.

“It is also expected that the universities will now make payment of all the retiral dues, release salary of serving employees and proceed ahead with examination schedule so that academic sessions are maintained and regularized and the interests of the students at large do not suffer,” the court said.

The education department, led by additional chief secretary K K Pathak, has been calling vice chancellors and other senior officials of state universities for meetings to discuss the functioning of varsities, while the Raj Bhawan has repeatedly refused permission to them to attend these meetings on the plea that an official could not call for such a meeting as per protocol.

The stalemate has continued even after the education department ordered to freeze the accounts of these universities earlier this year.

Governor is the Chancellor of state universities.