The need for a departmental inquiry in cases where the termination order casts stigma.

ORDER :

Vipul M. Pancholi, J.

1. This appeal is filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the oral judgment dated 19.04.2022 rendered by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.11785 of 2020 by which the learned Single Judge has allowed the petition filed by the present respondent – original petitioner.

2. It is the case of the original petitioner that he came to be appointed as Revenue Talati, Class-III on 25.09.2012 and came to be posted at Mamlatdar Office, Patan. Thereafter, on 21.01.2020, FIR came to be registered against him before ACB Police Station, Patan for the offence punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

3. The original respondent No.2 – Collector issued a show-cause notice on 26.02.2020 to which the original petitioner gave reply on 04.03.2020 and pointed out that he has been falsely implicated in the FIR in question. Thereafter, on 07.03.2020, the original respondents passed an order whereby the services of the petitioner came to be terminated without holding departmental inquiry. Petitioner, therefore, filed the captioned petition.

4. The learned Single Judge, vide impugned oral judgment dated 19.04.2022 allowed the said petition and therefore appellant - State has preferred present appeal.

5. Heard learned AGP Mr. Kurven Desai for the appellants – original respondents and learned advocate Mr.Jit P. Patel for the respondent – original petitioner.

6. Learned AGP has assailed the impugned judgment passed by the learned Single Judge on the ground that the services of the petitioner came to be terminated as per the order of appointment. Learned AGP has referred clause 14(A) of the order of appointment and submitted that services of the contractual employee can be terminated after giving one month’s notice or by making payment of one month pay without issuance of notice. It is submitted that the original petitioner was contractual employee and therefore it was not necessary for the original respondents to conduct departmental inquiry against the petitioner. Thus, the respondent has not committed any error while terminating the services of the petitioner mainly on the ground that the FIR under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been filed against him.

7. Learned AGP thereafter submitted that the learned Single Judge has committed an error while placing reliance upon the decision rendered on 24.07.2020 by the Division Bench of this Court in the case of State of Gujarat v. Chetan Jayantilal Rajgor passed in Letters Patent Appeal No.1596 of 2019. Learned AGP submitted that against the said decision rendered by the Division Bench of this Court, the State has preferred SLP before the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the said SLP is still pending. Learned AGP, therefore, urged that the impugned judgment passed by the learned Single Judge be set aside.

8. On the other hand, learned advocate Mr. Jit P. Patel appearing for the respondent – original petitioner has opposed this appeal. Learned advocate would mainly submit that the respondent authority has terminated the services of the petitioner mainly placing reliance upon the FIR filed against the petitioner under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. It is contended that the impugned order passed by the respondent authority is stigmatic order and therefore the respondent authority was required to hold the departmental inquiry before terminating the services of the petitioner. At this stage, learned advocate for the petitioner has placed reliance upon the order dated 11.01.2023 passed by the Division Bench of this Court in Letters Patent Appeal No.1416 of 2022. It is submitted that the Division Bench of this Court, after considering the decision rendered by this Court in the case of Chetan Jayantilal Rajgor (supra) and another decision rendered in the case of Deputy District Development Officer v. Devatbhai Ramsibhai Bhoda in Letters Patent Appeal No.99 of 2021, has dismissed the appeal filed by the S