2010 Supreme(SC) 130
V.S.SIRPURKAR, S.S.NIJJAR
State of U. P. – Appellant
Versus
Saroj Kumar Sinha – Respondent
Advocates Appeared:
T. N. Singh, Mukesh Verma, Chandra Prakash Pandey, Advs., for the Appellant(s).
Anurag Kishore, Abhinav Shrivastava, Rajesh Kumar, Advs., for the Repondent(s).
Judgement Key Points
Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:
- Subject: Administrative Law - Disciplinary Proceedings [judgement_subject]
- Acts Referred: Constitution of India: Art.311(2); Service Law: U.P. Government Servant Discipline and Appeal Rules: R.7, R.7(5) [judgement_act_referred]
- Core Principle: Non-disclosure of documents having a potential to cause prejudice to a government servant in the enquiry proceedings would clearly be a denial of a reasonable opportunity to submit a plausible and effective rebuttal to the charges (!) (!) .
- Right to Documents: A government employee facing a department enquiry is entitled to all relevant statements, documents, and other materials to enable him to have a reasonable opportunity to defend himself (!) (!) .
- Specific Rule Violation: The inquiry proceedings were vitiated because the department denied the respondent access to documents relied upon against him, in flagrant disregard of the mandatory sub-rule (5) of Rule 7 of the 1999 Rules (!) (!) (!) .
- Ineffective Defense: Without access to the documents, the respondent could not effectively prepare his defense, cross-examine witnesses, or point out inconsistencies (!) (!) .
- Condemned Unheard: The respondent was condemned unheard because the enquiry officer failed to fix any date for the conduct of the enquiry, meaning no witnesses were examined in support of the charges (!) (!) (!) .
- Rejection of "Custody" Argument: The submission that the respondent was in custody of the documents because he was posted in the same division was rejected, as he was suspended and no longer in charge of the office (!) (!) .
- Natural Justice: Article 311(2) of the Constitution mandates that departmental inquiries be conducted in accordance with the rules of natural justice to ensure fairness (!) (!) .
- Outcome: The High Court correctly set aside the order of removal and directed reinstatement, and the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal against this judgment (!) (!) (!) .
JUDGMENT
Surinder Singh Nijjar, J.
This appeal has been filed by the State of U.P. challenging the order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow in Writ Petition No.46 (S/B) of 2005 whereby the High Court allowed the writ petition of the respondent by quashing and setting aside the order of his removal dated 24.12.2004 and further directing his reinstatement in service with all consequential benefits.
2. The respondent had been in the service of the appellant since 17.5.1971. During the period 6.1.2001 to 12.2.2001 and from 17.3.2001 to 28.4.2003 he was posted as Executive Engineer at Construction Division-I, Public Works Department (P.W.D.), Rai Barielly. While functioning at Rai Barielly, he was served with the charge sheet dated 24.2.2001 under Rule 7 of the U.P. Government Servant (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as 1999 Rules) making serious allegations of misconduct against him.
3. The respondent having been initially selected through the Lok Sewa Ayog, U.P. was appointed as an Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department on 17.5.1971 in a substantive capacity. In due course he was promoted as Executive Engine
Click Here to Read the rest of this document