By the Court.—The petitioner was selected by the U.P. Public Service Commission and was appointed as Assistant Development Officer (Panchayat) on 26.2.1985. He retired on attaining the age of 60 years on 31.1.2010, serving as Incharge District Panchayat Raj Adhikari, Basti. This writ petition has been filed by him against the Office Memorandum dated 2.8.2010, by which the Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Anubhag-I, Government of UP has, on conclusion of the departmental enquiry initiated on 20.2.2003, and which continued even after his retirement, punished him with deduction of 100% pension; forfeiture of gratuity and with directions that he will not be entitled to any amount other than suspension allowance during the period he was under suspension.

2. We have heard Shri Ashok Khare, Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Siddharth Khare for the petitioner. Learned Standing Counsel appears for the State respondents.

3. Brief facts, giving rise to this writ petition, are that the petitioner, appointed as Assistant Development Officer (Panchayat) on 26.2.1985, could not be promoted on the post of District Panchayat Raj Officer, which was the next promotional post, as no meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee could be convened for 16 years. He was given charge of officiating District Panchayat Raj Officer on 27.2.1999, and was posted as District Panchayat Raj Officer, Basti on 30.7.2009.

4. The petitioner was placed under suspension on 26.2.2008 for irregularities in selection for appointment on eleven posts of Gram Panchayat Adhikari’s, in the backlog vacancies under directions of the State Government. A charge-sheet was served upon him on 12.3.2008, on the allegations based on the complaint of the members of the Selection Committee to the District Magistrate on 5.2.2008, that they were not taken into confidence while preparing the final select list nor they had signed on the select list. The petitioner did not make the documents relating to selection available to them. It was alleged that the establishment clerk brought the documents relating to the selections on 5.2.2008 from outside the office and that irregularities were committed in the dispatch of the appointment letters. In the enquiry, it was reported that Smt. Usha Devi, the clerk incharge of the dispatch had not dispatched any letters on 29.1.2008 except, three letters and that the despatches were made under the signatures of establishment clerk Shri Anil Kumar Srivastava; the petitioner did not prepare separate merit lists for Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, whereas the Selection Committee had decided to prepare a separate list. Out of the selected candidates Shri Umesh Chandra, and Km. Reeta Chaudhari were given marks for having participated in sports, whereas they only have certificates of district level, and were irregularly awarded higher marks; one of the candidates Shri Kamlapati was awarded 39 marks by three members of the Selection Committee, 34 marks by the 4th member, whereas the petitioner had given him only 05 marks. In the same manner Sweta Tiwari was given 33 marks by one member, 40, 30 and 39 marks by other members, whereas the petitioner had given her only 06 marks. In the same manner Km. Lalita Maurya was given 24, 28, 27 and 21 marks by the members of the Selection Committee, whereas the petitioner had given her 47 marks and in this manner the petitioner had, in order to give advantage to some of the candidates, given them marks arbitrarily.

5. The petitioner filed a Writ Petition No. 25190 of 2008 against the suspension order, which was disposed of on 22.5.2008 to conclude enquiry. The selections were cancelled by the State Government. The cancellation of selections of 11 candidates in the backlog vacancies by the Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Anubhag-I, Government of U.P. dated 20.2.2008 was challenged by the selected candidates, in three writ petitions in which the Writ Petition No. 113