The Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed the suspension order passed against Dr. Rakesh Kumar Verma, the acting principal of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Government College in Pipariya. Justice Sanjay Dwivedi held that Verma had no direct role in the irregular evaluation of answer sheets, and that his suspension appeared to have been issued merely to “save the face” of the Education Department, rather than for any legitimate administrative reason.

The suspension was issued before the inquiry report came in, which later revealed Verma wasn’t directly involved.

A nodal officer cannot be held responsible for irregularities they had no direct connection to—especially without being informed or involved beforehand.

The Court emphasized that suspension must serve a preventive purpose (e.g., preventing interference in an ongoing inquiry), not a punitive one aimed at merely displaying “action taken.”

Since there was no mischief Verma could commit during the process, keeping him on suspension was unjustified.

The petition filed by Dr. Verma challenged the April 4 suspension, which was issued after a video went viral in January—allegedly showing a peon evaluating answer sheets. The subsequent inquiry implicated him, but only indirectly through his designation as nodal officer. The Court has now set aside that suspension.

sources