GAHC010104002020

2025:GAU-AS:4778 IN THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM & ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO.3101/2020 Sri Tapan Kumar Dutta S/o- Bhugeswar Dutta, R/o- Hukuta Chariali, Girls College Road, P.O & P.S- Duliajan, District- Dibrugarh, Assam PIN- 786602 Petitioner …….

-Versus-

1. The State of Assam represented by the Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Assam, Industrial & Commerce Department, Dispur, Guwahati-781006.

2. M/s DNP Limited (A Government of Assam Undertaking)

Head Office: Assam Gas Company Limited Campus, P.S- Duliajan, District- Dibrugarh, Assam, PIN- 786602, Represented by its Director &

Chief Executive Officer.

3. The Director & Chief Executive Officer, DNP Ltd.

H.O.: Assam Gas Company Limited Campus, P.O.- Duliajan, District- Dibrugarh, Assam, PIN- 786602.

4. The General Manager (Tech) DNP Ltd, H.O.: Assam Gas Company Limited Campus, P.O.- Duliajan, District- Dibrugarh, Assam, PIN- 786602.

5. The Deputy General Manager, (Tech) DNP Ltd.

H.O.: Assam Gas Company Limited Campus, P.O.- Duliajan, District- Dibrugarh, Assam, PIN- 786602.

6. The Dy. Manager (H.R. & A)

DNP Ltd, H.O: Assam Gas Company Limited Campus, P.O.- Duliajan, District- Dibrugarh, Assam, PIN- 786602.

s …….Respondent – B E F O R E –

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE KAUSHIK GOSWAMI For the Petitioner(s) :Mr. B.D. Konwar, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. H. Agarwal.

For the Respondent(s) :Mr. K. Khanna, learned counsel for the respondent No.2.

Date of Hearing :22.04.2025 Date of Judgment :22.04.2025 J UDGMENT & O RDER (ORAL Heard Mr. B.D. Konwar, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. H. Agarwal, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. K. Khanna, learned counsel appearing for the respondent No.2. None appears for the State respondent on call.

2. By way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner is assailing, inter-alia, the impugned provisional release order dated 15.02.2020 and the subsequent impugned letter dated 10.06.2020.

3. The brief facts of the case is that the petitioner was serving under the respondent No.2 which is an undertaking of the Government of Assam, initially as Engineer (Mechanical) and later on with effect from 16.04.2019 in the higher grade of Senior Engineer (Mechanical). However, the petitioner being occasionally absent from duty since December, 2019, he was served with a charge sheet dated 15.02.2020 on the allegation that he is habitually late and irregular in attending his duties. Thereafter, on the same date itself i.e. 15.02.2020, the petitioner submitted a resignation letter and on the same date itself the respondent No.2 issued a provisional release order. However, later on the petitioner on 16.05.2020 submitted a letter to the respondent No.2 requesting him to rejoin his service with apology for his actions. It is the specific case of the writ petitioner that the respondent No.2 instead of revoking the provisional release order, by letters dated 21.05.2020 and 10.06.2020 directed the petitioner to refund 3 (three) month salary and to deposit the company’s equipments as he was no longer in the company’s service since 16.02.2020. Situated thus, the present writ petition has been filed.

4. Mr. B.D. Konwar, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent No.2 has provisionally accepted the resignation request of the petitioner subject to conditions and since the petitioner before issuance of the final release order has withdrawn his request for voluntary resignation made earlier, the respondent No.2 ought to have allowed the petitioner to rejoin the service and therefore, the impugned action of the respondent No.2 to treat the impugned provisional release order as final release order is illegal. In support of the aforesaid submissions, he relies upon the following decisions of the Apex Court:-

i. Power Finance Corporation Ltd. Vs. Pramod Kumar Bhatia reported in (1997) 4 SCC 280 ii. Srikantha S.M. Vs. Bharath Earth