The Allahabad High Court has granted the Uttar Pradesh Government 3 more months to comply with its January 2026 order directing a comprehensive, statewide scrutiny of appointments of Assistant Teachers, particularly those allegedly secured on the strength of forged and fabricated certificates.

While dealing with a contempt petition pertaining to the January 2026 order, a bench of Justice Piyush Agrawal remarked that a prima facie case of contempt had been made out against the Principal Secretary, Basic Education, and other officials for wilful disobedience of the earlier order.

However, the single judge granted them one more opportunity to comply with the directions "in its letter and spirit" within 3 months from the date of production of a copy of the latest order.

The contempt application was filed by Brajesh Kumar Bagwar against Principal Secretary (Basic Education) Parth Sarthi Sensharma and two others.

It was the petitioner's case that a certified copy of the January 22, 2026 order had been submitted to the opposite parties for compliance.

However, they had wilfully failed to comply with the directions, thereby committing civil contempt punishable under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

Taking note of the submission, the Court observed thus:

"Prima facie, a case of contempt has been made out for punishing the opposite party(s) for willful disobedience of the writ Court order".

However, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the Court accorded the opposite parties "one more opportunity" to comply with the earlier order in its letter and spirit within three months from the date of production of a copy of the November 5 order.

Disposing of the contempt application at this stage, the Court granted liberty to the applicant to move a fresh application if the January 2026 order is not complied with within the stipulated period.

Background

For context, the High Court, in its order dated January 22, 2026, noted a "disturbing pattern" in which a large number of Assistant Teachers secured appointments on the strength of forged and fabricated certificates, fake documents, or deliberate concealment of material facts.

A bench of Justice Manju Rani Chauhan passed this order, noting that despite the issuance of several circulars and instructions by the State Government, the authorities responsible for maintaining purity in the education system have failed to take effective and timely action against such illegal appointments.

"The inaction on the part of the authorities not only perpetuates fraud but also strikes at the very root of the education system, causing grave prejudice to the interest of students, which is of paramount and overriding consideration for this Court", the bench further remarked.

The Court had observed that such persons continued to remain in service for years together, openly "in collusion" with the management of institutions and, in many cases, with the "active connivance or tacit approval" of the concerned Basic Shiksha Adhikari.

The bench, noting that the education imparted to children can't be compromised, issued a mandamus directing the Principal Secretary, Basic Education, to undertake a comprehensive and time-bound scrutiny of the appointments of Assistant Teachers across the State.

Simultaneously, the Court had directed that stringent disciplinary and penal action be initiated against officials found to have colluded with, abetted, or deliberately ignored such fraudulent appointments.

The entire exercise was directed to be completed expeditiously, preferably within six months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the January 22 order.