important point
Discharge under habitual offenders’ policy is a discharge simplicitor and as such it cannot be held as termination of service by way of punishment for misconduct.

judgment

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J. –

1.These five appeals have a common matrix in the judgment of a Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur dated 26.9.2000. Eight Special Appeals were filed by the Union of India and Others under Section 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 (in short the ‘Ordinance’). Challenge in the Special Appeals was to the order passed by a learned Single Judge of the High Court allowing the writ petitions filed. It was held that the dispute in writ petitions was squarely covered in favour of the writ petitioners by a judgment of this Court in Union of India and Ors. v. Corporal A.K. Bakshi and Anr.,1 (1996 (3) SCC 65). The High Court by the common impugned judgment upheld the view of the learned Single Judge in four cases and in two cases held that the appeals filed by the Union of India deserved to be allowed. In four cases filed by the Union of India before this Court, the Division Bench upheld the view of the learned Single Judge and held that the order was passed in clear violation of the principles of natural justice.

2.In the said appeals, stand of the Union of India is that show cause notice was issued to which reply was furnished by the respondent in each case and after consideration of the same, the order of discharge was passed.

3.In the two appeals, which were decided in favour of the Union of India it was held that show cause notice was duly issued and there was no reply. Against one such order Civil Appeal No.2670 of 2002 has been filed.

4.Learned counsel for the appellant-Union of India submitted that the original records were produced before the High Court. They clearly indicate that show cause notice was issued which fact was not disputed by the respondents. The fact that each of such respondents had replied is also not disputed. It is the stand of the Union of India that both learned Single Judge and the Division Bench went wrong in holding that without consideration of the replies the order of discharge had been passed.

5.In one of the appeals i.e. Civil Appeal No. 2668 of 2002 learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the order of discharge does not indicate any consideration of the show cause notice reply. In the other three cases, there is no appearance on behalf of the respondents.

6.In appeal filed by Santosh Singh i.e. Civil Appeal No. 2670 of 2002 the High Court categorically found that show cause notice was not responded to. There is no appearance on behalf of the appellant when the matter was called.

7.It appears that the Habitual Offenders’ Policy was formulated as a result of a project study on offences of ‘absence without leave’ and other offences committed by Airmen made by the Institute of Defence Management, which brought out the salient features regarding the existence of habitual offenders amongst Airmen in Indian Air Force. It was found that there was a specific hard core group of airmen in the Air Force who have been contributing regularly and predominantly to the annual offence statistics in the Air Force, year after year. This group of Airmen have been a strong source of adverse influence on the general discipline of other Airmen in the service. Some adverse effects noticed were as follows:

(a)serious adverse effect and influence on the general morale and discipline, especially on the young airmen joining various units from the training centers.

(b)Unit level administration was kept pre-occupied with these chronic in discipline cases impinging on time which was otherwise required for constructive activity.

(c)Very often, at some stage or the other, airmen from this group were found to commit serious offences not only within but also outside the Air Force, thereby tarnishing the image of the service, and

(d)Invariably many of these airmen were not performing well in their trades also.

8.Hence, their overall contribution to the service was negligible. By passage of time, some of these airmen have been promoted and have attained the ranks of a seni