ORDER

1. Leave granted. While he was posted as Chief Inspector in the Mount Abu office of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (for short, 'the Corporation'), the respondent submitted an application for grant of leave for 66 days from 27.10.1999 to 31.12.1999 by stating that he was to go to Trinidad, West Indies to meet his wife, who was working there as a doctor. The application of the respondent was forwarded to the competent authority. However, before the leave could be sanctioned, the respondent went abroad and that too without seeking permission from the concerned authority. He was placed under suspension vide order dated 2.12.1999 and was served with charge sheet dated 26.2.2000 for holding an enquiry under the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (Conduct, Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1989 (for short, "the Rules") on the charges of remaining absent from duty and going to a foreign country without taking permission from the competent authority.

2. The respondent neither filed reply to the charge sheet nor joined duty. Instead, he sent an application for extension of leave. His request was rejected vide telegram dated 28.2.2000. On the next day, the respondent rep