JUDGMENT

L. NAGESWARA RAO, J.

Leave granted.

1. The judgment of the High Court by which the order of dismissal of Respondent No.1 from the service was set aside is the subject matter of this Appeal. Respondent No.1 was appointed as a Meter Reader-cum-Clerk in the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) in the year 1974. He was promoted as a Junior Engineer in the year 1997. On 21.06.2003, Additional Registrar of Enquiries-I, Karnataka Lokayukta, Bangalore framed a charge against the Respondent which is as follows:

“Charge:

That you DBE Sri. C. Nagaraju, while working as Junior Engineer (Elecl.,) at KEB, VV-1 (O&M) South Zone, Vidyaranyapuram Circle, Mysore during the year 1998, one Sri. K. Chandrasekhar, Class II Electrical Contractor, Resident of Vidyaranyapuram, Mysore, (hereinafter called as ‘Complainant’) had approached you for obtaining electrical power supply to the house and shop of his customer Smt. Savithramma, on 14-5- 1998, and you demanded a sum of Rs.1,250/- as illegal gratification, and on 16-5-1998 you once again demanded and accepted illegal gratification of Rs.750/- as advance amount, from the complainant for doing the said work of giving electrical pow