Mahesh Kumar @ Mahesh Paswan vs Union of India

Sangam Kumar Sahoo, CJ

This writ petition has been filed by the petitioners in the nature of Public Interest Litigation seeking the following relief(s):

"(i) For issuance of a direction to the respondents authority to conduct an enquiry for the fund allotted under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yogna - Rural for construction of the house in the name of different beneficiary under Vill- Mohamad pur Pohiar Salha Panchayat Block Sahdei Sub Division Mahnar District Vaisali in which there is huge embezzlement of public money is involved in allotment of the fund to the original beneficiary.

(ii)  For further direction to the respondents to recover the entire money from those who has got the said amount by personating themselves to be the original beneficiary and thereafter handed over the said amount to the original beneficiary.

(iii) For any other order or orders for which the petitioner is entitled may be pass by this Hon'ble court under the facts and circumstances of the case."

A supplementary counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of Respondent Nos.4 to 8, wherein, it is stated as follows:

"5. That in this regard it is pertinent to point out herein that upon record based inquiry conducted at the block level, it was found that the irregular alteration of Aadhar numbers and bank accounts detail of PMAY (Rural) beneficiaries for financial year 2019-20 and 2020-21 in Salaha Panchayat, Block-Sahdei Buzurg, District-Vaishali occurred at the Panchayat Level. It is further stated here that the responsibility for the said irregularity has been fixed upon one Subodh Kant Kumar, the then Gramin Awas Sahayak, Panchayat Salaha, Block-Sahdei Buzurg who missused his entrusted role during the beneficiary verification and data entry.

That it is further stated here that vide Office Order No. 57 to 60 dated 19.04.2025, the recovery proceedings were initiated in coordination with the concerned branches against all the five wrong beneficiary and as a result thereof the entire amount of Rs. 1,20,000/- each from all five wrong beneficiaries have been fully recovered and duly credited to the Government Account of the Rural Development Department through banking channels."

In view of such specific stand taken in the supplementary counter affidavit, nothing survives to be adjudicated in this Public Interest Litigation.

Accordingly, the Letters Patent Appeal is disposed of.

Interlocutory application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.