JUDGMENT

S.P. Kurdukar, J.-The first appellant is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and carries on business at various places/centres in India having its registered office at Bombay. The first appellant (for short the Corporation ) carries on its business of selling petrol and petroleum products at various places in India. The second appellant is the Director, Research and Development Centre, Faridabad in Haryana State.

2. The respondent-Ashok Kumar Arora joined the service of the Corporation as a Junior Stenographer on August 6, 1974 and thereafter came to be promoted as Senior Stenographer on December 26, 1977.

3. In the year 1964, it had come to the notice of the corporation that some of its employees were presenting false medical bills and getting them reimbursed from the Corporation. In order to verify the truth or otherwise of such claims, a vigilance enquiry was held by the office of Chairman of the Corporation (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.) which unearthed a racket of its employees claiming reimbursements on presenting false medical bills. The report was accordingly submitted by the vigilance department to the Corporation identifying the respondent as the or