P.K. Balasubramanyan, J.

These Original Petitions were referred to a Division Bench by the Seamed Single Judge in view of the apparent conflict in the views expressed in the decisions of this Court and in view of the importance of the question involved. The Division Bench in its turn felt that there was an apparent conflict between the views in the decisions of two Division Bench of this Court, one in Union of India v. Kunhabdulla (1985(1) LLJ 331) and the other in Thomas Kutty v. Union of India (1994 (2) KLT 258) and that the conflict requires to be resolved. That is how these Original Petitions have come up before the Full Bench.

2. Brief facts in O.P. 11321 of 1995 are: The petitioner therein while working as a Head Constable in the Central Industrial Security Force Unit at Bokkaro Steel Plant was issued a charge memo and after the conduct of a due enquiry was imposed a punishment of reduction in rank to the lower post of Naik till he was found fit by the competent authority to be restored to the higher post of Head Constable. This order was admittedly served on the petitioner at Bokkaro. The petitioner filed an appeal before the Deputy Inspector General, Central Indus