Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. This Court finds it rather strange and there are one to many coincidences that whenever there are serious charges of defalcation of government money or such kind of serious dereliction, departmental proceedings are conducted in very cavalier manner. At the end delinquent is the real beneficiary and the society is the looser. This is not the first case of the kind, which this Court has noticed. Court has been compelled to observe and express its opinion as above.

3. There is no dispute that over a period of time in the district of Sitamarhi, especially Sub-division, Pupri, large scale withdrawal of money was done illegally in the name of payment to the non-existent or dead Chaukidars and Dafadars. The above operation especially was carried out between the years 1998-2002.

4. On an audit being carried out, the above illegality came to the notice of the superiors and as a knee-jerk reaction, decision was taken to proceed against all such Sub-divisional Officers, who were posted during that period. Petitioner happens to be one of such person, with shortest tenure of eight months, i.e., 15.09.1998 to 06.05.1999, of the many persons proce