ORDER :

Services of the petitioner, a regular employee, were terminated by respondent No.2 vide order dated 17.11.2018. This order has been assailed in the instant petition.

2. Facts

2(i) The petitioner was appointed as a part time water carrier on 02.08.1997. He was made a whole time contingent employee on 11.03.2005. On 07.08.2008, petitioner was made a regular Class-IV employee and posted as such in Government Middle School Sangalwara, District Mandi.

2(ii) As per the respondents:-

2(ii)(a) The petitioner remained willfully absent from the duties w.e.f. 20.10.2006 to 13.06.2007 and from 19.06.2007 to 05.08.2008. On 07.08.2008, the petitioner was made a regular Class-IV employee.

2(ii)(b) The petitioner applied for casual leave w.e.f. 22.02.2010 to 02.03.2010 i.e. for nine days, but thereafter, did not apply for extension of leave and remained willfully absent from the duties. He was asked to explain his position by the respondents, vide letter dated 11.02.2010, but he failed to furnish any explanation.

2(ii)(c) On 05.04.2010, the Principal, Government Senior Secondary School Jarol, District Mandi, was directed to inquire into the matter. The Principal submitted his inquiry report on 22.04.2010.

On the basis of this inquiry report, an office order was issued by respondent No.2- the Deputy Director, Higher Education, Mandi, District Mandi on 04.06.2010, warning the petitioner not to repeat such act in future.

It will be appropriate to extract operative part of this office order:-

“Now therefore, the undersigned taking a lenient view at this time hereby warns the said Sh. Jai Nand, Peon GMS Sangalwara U/C GSSS Janjehli, District Mandi, H.P. not to repeat such an act in future, failing which action as warranted under the Rules will be initiated against him.”

2(iii) The record produced by the respondents during the hearing of this case showed that a fact finding report regarding ‘personal application of the petitioner’ was conducted by the Principal, GSSS Jhungi, District Mandi. The fact finding report was submitted to respondent No.2-the Deputy Director Higher Education, District Mandi, on 29.12.2012. Subsequently, a memorandum of charges under Rule 14 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, [CCS (CCA) Rules] was issued against the petitioner on 05.08.2015 by respondent No.2 with the following article of charge:-

“That Sh. Jai Nand, Peon, presently posted at GMS Sangalwara U/C Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Janjehli Distt Mandi remained willfully absent from duties w.e.f. 03.03.2010 to till date. This act and conduct of Sh. Jai Nand, Peon, GMS Sangalwara U/C GSSS Janjehali, is of doubtful integrity and unbecoming of a Govt. servant and tantamounts to misconduct under Rule 3 of CCS (Control ) Rules 1964.”

The charge against the petitioner was that he was willfully absent from the duties w.e.f. 03.03.2010 and that his act and conduct was of doubtful integrity and unbecoming of a government servant tantamounting to misconduct under Rule 3 of CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964.

2(iv). Memorandum of charges dated 05.08.2015 issued under Rule 14 of CCA (CCA), eventually led to issuance of order dated 17.11.2018, whereby, respondent No.2-the Deputy Director Higher Education, Mandi, District Mandi, terminated petitioner’s services w.e.f. 03.03.2010 with retrospective effect.

It is in the aforesaid background that the petitioner has preferred the instant writ petition, assailing the order dated 17.11.2018.

3. Contentions

Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the Memorandum of charges dated 05.08.2015, produced by the respondents during hearing of the case was never served upon petitioner. The respondents never associated the petitioner with the disciplinary proceedings said to have been initiated against him under the charge sheet. The respondent-employer has not complied with the mandatory procedure laid down under the CCS (CCA) Rules for holding the disciplinary proceedings. Therefore, order dated 17.11.2018 is r