Judgment

BEG, J. :- The plaintiff-appellant s allegations, in the suit which comes up by special leave before us, may be stated as follows.

The appellant was appointed a Clerk on 29-7-1925 at Gorakhpur in the Accounts Department of what was then the Bengal North Eastern Railway. In January, 1930, he was appointed an Assistant Office Superintendent. The Railway was taken over by the State and renamed as Oudh Tirhut Railway (O.T.R.) and, subsequently, it became the North Eastern Railway. In January, 1949, the appellant was appointed officiating Assistant Secretary to the General Manager as a Class II Officer. On 11-5-1949, he was prompted to the post of Office Superintendent . But, on that very date, he was served with a charge-sheet by the Deputy General Manager and called upon to explain, within 3 days, the use of certain first class passes issued to him. On 14-5-1949, he submitted his explanation and justified the use of these passes by quoting specific rules and similar instances. On 29-6-1949 the General Manager reverted the appellant from the post of Office Superintendent to that of the Assistant Office Superintendent with effect from 1-7-1949 without holding any enquiry at all