ORDER :

1. Petitioner No. 1 is the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB); Petitioner No. 2 is the Chief Engineer, HRD-cum-Inquiry Officer and Petitioner No. 3 is the Senior Executive Engineer working in PSEB. Respondent was the employee of PSEB who retired from service, with effect from 30.4.2004. He had given the notice on 27.2.2004 for voluntary retirement which was accepted. As a result, the Respondent stood voluntary retired from 30.4.2004. However, almost 4 years after his retirement i.e. on 7.1.2008, the Respondent was served with the charge sheet levelling certain allegations against him, allegedly committed between 15.5.2002 to 3.12.2002. These charges which were for the period May 2002 to December 2002 were obviously of a period much earlier than 4 years before the serving of the charge sheet dated 7.1.2008 and much after his retirement when he had ceased to be the employee of PSEB.

2. The Respondent filed the Writ Petition in the High Court seeking quashing of the said charge sheet on the ground that it was barred in view of Rule 2.2.(B) of the Punjab Civil Service Rules 2 reserves right with the Government to withhold or withdraw a pension or a part of it under certain cir