JUDGMENT :

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties, the Petition is heard finally.

2. This Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, assails the legality, propriety and correctness of the judgment and order dated 15 March 2017 passed by the learned Member, Industrial Court at Sangli, in Complaint (ULP) No.163 of 2014, whereby the learned Member, Industrial Court, was persuaded to dismiss the Complaint.

3. Shorn of superfluities, the background facts can be stated as under :

3.1 On 17 July 1978, the Petitioner was appointed as a Tracer with the Zilla Parishad, Sangli. On 18 October 2001, while the Petitioner was posted at Panchayat Samiti, Jat, the Petitioner came to be apprehended by Anti-Corruption Bureau with the allegation that the Petitioner had demanded and accepted an amount of Rs.500/- as illegal gratification. The Petitioner was placed under suspension with effect from 18 October 2001. He was prosecuted for the offence punishable under Sections 7, 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in Special Criminal Case No.4 of 2002.

3.2 During the pendency of the trial in Special C