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2010 Supreme(Pat) 770
PATNA HIGH COURT
V.N.Sinha, J.
Vijay Kumar Singh Son Of Sri Shobhi Lal Verma
Versus
Bihar State Financial Corporation Through Its Chairman, Fraser Road, Patna
CWJC No. 3139 of 1997 11838 of 1997
Decided On : April 15, 2010
Headnote:Service Law-Departmental Proceeding-Punishment of demotion and compulsory retirement awarded for failure to comply the transfer order directing him to join the Saharsa Branch office and thereby remaining under unauthorized absence for 164 days-Petitioner also alleged to have displayed gross indiscipline and misconduct against the Managing Director of the corporation by writing letter dated 14.8.1997 directly to the I. D.C., Bihar-Impugned punishment proceeds on the basis of the ex parte enquiry report and the contents of letter dated 14.8.1997 which the petitioner during the enquiry had no opportunity to challenge as copy thereof was neither made available for inspection nor served on the petitioner inspite of his repeated demand Even after the copy of the letter dated 14.8.1997 was served on him, he had no opportunity to challenge the contents thereof as finding against him about the authorship of the said letter stood recorded against him by the enquiry officer under his report It is, thus, obvious that the petitioner was confronted with a situation which was fait accompli and had no opportunity to prove his innocence- The impugned punishment suffers from the vice of arbitrariness and accordingly set aside-However, as the petitioner superannuated during the pendency of the writ petition and could not, thus, be reinstated, he was directed to be paid his salary from the date of compulsory retirement till the date he attained the age of superannuation-Petitioner also held entitled for the arrears of salary for the earlier period during which he could not join the Saharsa Branch office on account of illness of his father and had been allowed the ordinary leave. (Paras 17 & 18)
V.N.Sinha, J.
1. Petitioner and the respondents in the two writ applications are common, in the circumstances, both the applications have been taken up together for hearing in the light of the orders of this Court dated 17.3.1999 passed in C.WJ.C. No. 3139 of 1997.
2. Petitioner at the relevant time served on the post of Assistant Office Superintendent in the Bihar State Financial Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the "Corporation"). In C.W.J.C. No. 3139 of 1997 he has challenged the office order bearing Memo No. 3525 dated 28.2.1997, Annexure-9, whereunder in the light of the. findings recorded by the Enquiry Officer under report dated 20.1.1997, Annexure-7 pursuant to memo of charge dated 1.11.1996, Annexure-1, he has been awarded the punishment of demotion and demoted to the rank of Assistant for failure to comply the transfer order dated 15.2.1996, Annexure-A to the counter affidavit directing him to join the Saharsa Branch Office by 23.2.1996 thereby he remained under unauthorized absence for 164 days with effect from 19.2.1996 till 31.7.1996.
3. In C.W.J.C. No. 11838 of 1997 petitioner has challenged the contents of Letter Nos. 1231 and 1232 dated 8.8.1997, Annexures-1 and 1/1, whereunder he has been communicated the Annual Confidential Remarks recorded against him by the Managing Director of the Corporation for the year 1994-95 and 1995-96. In the said writ case he has also challenged the memo of charge dated 26.9.1997, Annexure-2, whereunder he is alleged to have displayed gross indiscipline and misconduct against the Managing Director of the Corporation by directly writing letter dated 14.8.1997 to the I.D.C. Government of Bihar, Patna, contents whereof are derogatory, outrageous and obnoxious exceeding all bounds of decency, reasonableness and propriety amounting to gross indiscipline and misconduct. Under letter dated 14.8.1997 he is also alleged to have made contemptuous remarks against the judiciary. It is further alleged in the charge sheet that although petitioner is on the post of Assistant in the Corporation, he has described himself as Assistant Office Superintendent which is an act of grave misconduct and disobedience of order contained in Memo No. 3525 dated 28.2.1997 impugned as Annexure-9 in the former writ case.
4. By filing Interlocutory Application No. 4786 of 1998 in C.W.J.C. No. 11838 of 1997 petitioner initially prayed for stay of the office order dated 3.4.1998, Annexure-L by which he was awarded the punishment of compulsory retirement from the service of the Corporation. Later, petitioner filed Interlocutory Application No.5357 of 1998 in the same writ petition praying inter alia to quash the office order dated 3.4.1998 appended as Annexure-L to Interlocutory Application No. 4786 of 1998 compulsorily retiring him from the service of the Corporation with effect from 3.4.1998.
5. In response to the charge-sheet dated 1.11.1996, Annexure-1 alleging non-compliance of the transfer order dated 15.2.1996, Annexure-A to the counter affidavit and for failure to join the transferred post at Saharsa Branch Office on or before 23.2.1996 in compliance of the instructions relieving him dated 19.2.1996 petitioner submitted his show-cause reply dated 18.11.1996, Annexure-3 stating that he received the transfer order on 16.2.1996 while he was in office and on the date of receipt of the transfer order the condition of his father was serious who had fallen ill on 2.2.1996, petitioner being the only son and person available in the family to look after his ailing father, as his mother predeceased his father, under registered letter dated 19.2.1996 applied for grant of ordinary leave from 19.2.1996 till 15.3.1996 after the office of the Corporation opened on 19.2.1996 as 17.2.1996 and 18.2.1996 were holidays. The leave was further extended under letter dated 16.3.1996, 15.4.1996, 1.6.1996, 5.7.1996 and 20.7.1996. In response to Charge No. 1 petitioner specifically stated that he never received the reliev
