Disciplinary proceedings are flawed if essential documents are not supplied to the charged official, violating the principles of natural justice.

JUDGMENT :

OM PRAKASH SHUKLA, J

1. The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, wherein the petitioner has prayed for the following relief(s):

“a) To call for the records of the enquiry and set aside Administrative order dated 24.06.2020 and also order dated 24.05.2021 and also enquiry officer's report dated 25.02.2020 forwarded on 27.02.2020 and direct the respondents to reinstate the petitioner in service with all consequential benefits including continuity of service, pay and allowances, seniority and promotion; and

b) Any order or further relief which this Hon'ble Court deems fit, just and proper in the peculiar circumstance of the case in the interest of justice may also please be awarded.”

2. Briefly stated, the petitioner, having been appointed in the Railway Protection Force, [“RPF” hereinafter] on 01.02.1997, had his service, discipline, and conduct governed under the provisions of RPF Act of 1957 and the rules framed in 1987. In the year 2014, while the petitioner was serving as an Inspector in the RPF, certain irregularities were detected during a vigilance check conducted by the Northern Railway Vigilance Department. It was reported that three parcels booked from Kanth to Amritsar went missing from Amritsar Station on 25.11.2014. In relation to this incident, Vigilance initiated a preliminary enquiry and, as such on 09.12.2014, contacted the RPF at Amritsar to ascertain which staff members were on platform duty on 23.11.2014. During this process, the Vigilance team examined the RPF attendance register and also contacted the petitioner, who was expected to be on duty at the platform when the consignment allegedly went missing. On verification, it was found that his attendance remained unmarked from 01.12.2014 to 09.12.2014, with leave sanctioned up to 08.12.2014 and no reporting having been made even by 5:00 PM on 09.12.2014. Upon enquiring into his whereabouts, the Vigilance team observed that the petitioner had misused his duty pass by travelling on 09.12.2014 on Train No. 12925 (Paschim Express) while on leave and had tampered with the journey details in the said duty pass.

3. Thus, the enquiry which was primarily initiated regarding the missing parcels, rather went on to allege the misuse of the duty card pass during leave by the petitioner. Consequently, a draft major penalty charge-sheet was prepared by Vigilance and sent to the Principal Chief Security Commissioner, [“PCSC” hereinafter], RPF, Northern railway, for approval and appropriate action. Acting on this, the disciplinary authority, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, [“Sr. DSC” hereinafter] on 03.10.2016, issued a charge sheet against the petitioner on three counts, namely (i) misuse of the duty card pass while on leave, (ii) destroying the Government records to divert investigation and (iii) for not making any entry of availed journeys in duty card pass. All these charges were denied by the petitioner. In the interregnum, records reveal that the PCSC requested the General Manager to issue a minor penalty charge- sheet under rule 158 of the RPF Rules, as on perusal of the charge- sheet and keeping in mind the administrative prospective, the PCSC was of the view that a minor penalty was warranted in the said facts &circumstances.

4. Be that as it may, after a gap of almost three years, the Disciplinary Authority, vide an order dated 30.07.2019, cancelled the charge sheet issued under Railway Service (Conduct) Rules, apparently on