Judgment

VARADARAJAN, J. :- This appeal by special leave is by the appellant in Letters Patent Appeal 119 of 1971 which was dismissed by the Delhi High Court. The L.P.A. was filed by the appellant against the order of a learned single Judge of that High Court dismissing the Writ Petition filed by the appellant against the order of the President of India, dated 25-1-1964 compulsorily retiring him from service with immediate effect. The appellant was an officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre of the Indian Administrative Service. The said order was passed as a result of disciplinary proceedings instituted against the appellant under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1955 in which he was found guilty of the whole of Charge No. 7 and a part of Charge No. 9.

2. The appellant, born on 21-1-1912, joined service in the erstwhile Gwalior State on 10-1-1938 and later came into the Indian Administrative Service. He was appointed as General Manager of the Madhya Bharat Roadways of the Madhya Pradesh Government on 18-8-1954 and he continued as such up to 8-1-1956 in which spell he functioned also as Director of Industries of the State from 14-5-1956 to 8-6-1956. He had worked as General Manager of the same Roadways again for a second spell from 5-8-1957 to 1-9-1958. During the period he was not working as General Manager of the Roadways an investigation was started against him at the instance of the Works Manager of the Roadways and it disclosed certain irregularities committed during the period in which he was General Manager. The Finance Officer (6th respondent) who was entrusted with the investigation, submitted two reports dated 17-7-1957 and 30-7-1957 to the then General Manager. Mr. Sawant, pointing out certain irregularities in the matter of purchases of stores by one Banthia, who was Manager of the Central Stores of the Roadways at the relevant time. Mr. Sawant suspended Banthia on 19-7-1957 and forwarded the aforesaid two reports to the State Government. Thereafter, the appellant became General Manager of the Roadways for the second spell from 5-8-1957 and he approved the draft First. Information Report which was to be filed against Banthia and others on 26-9-1957. The First Information Report was actually lodged with the Police on 27-9-1957. During the Police investigation which followed certain documents including a letter which was marked as Ex. G-121 in the departmental enquiry led the authorities to suspect that the appellant also was responsible for some of the irregularities. Thereupon, a chargesheet was served, on the appellant on 17-9-1960 for a departmental enquiry. Charges 7 and 9 with which alone we are concerned in this appeal were the following:

Charge No. 7

"He connived at the supply of inferior substitute by the said firm of Niranjanlal Ramchandra in place of genuine Dodge brake linings as per orders dated 12-3-1956 and 14-5-1956, referred to in the Charges Nos. 1, 2 and 4 and the payment therefor at the rates agreed for genuine parts and on the fraud, having come to the surface tried to cover it up by being privy to the fabrication of a false and ante-dated document namely a letter dated 17-5-1956, purporting to be from the said firm of Niranjanlal Ramchandra and calculated to shield the same firm from criminal and financial liability as also himself from suspicion of misconduct."

Charge No. 9

"Despite a clear departmental instruction to the contrary, he on 8-12-1954, placed a mere probationer, Shri Raj Mal Banthia in charge of the Central Stores of the M. B. Roadways relieving a senior and experienced officer, Shri Lekh Raj Sharma, the Works Manager, of the Supervisory control of the Stores, failed to ensure that the stores were regularly inspected and later went out of his way in shielding Shri Banthia."

3. The appellant filed his reply to the chargesheet on 4-10-1960 and the enquiry was commenced after one Mr. Radha Krishnan who was President of the Board of Revenue, Madhya Pradesh was appointed as Enq