Judgment

MITTER, J.:- The question involved in this appeal is, whether the whole proceedings of the Inquiry Committee constituted to inquire into the charges of mis-appropriation and handling cash belonging to Government without authority were vitiated by the violation of the principles of natural justice with the result that the order of dismissal passed subsequently on the respondent could not be sustained.

2. The facts necessary for the disposal of the appeal are as follows. The respondent used to serve as treasure guard in the Eastern Railway. A charge-sheet was issued by the Chief Cashier of the Railway on August 3, 1959 wherein allegations of misappropriation of cash belonging to Government were levelled against him. An Inquiry Committee consisting of three persons, namely, A. K. Roy Choudhury, Divisional Accounts Officer, Mani Chakraborty, Divisional Personnel Officer and R. N. Chatterjee, Divisional Engineer, was constituted to inquire into the charges. The charge-sheet had been issued after a fact finding committee of the very same persons had looked into the matter. After the proceedings of the Inquiry Committee had gone on for some time and some witnesses were examined A.