KRISHNA KUMAR Vs. DIVISIONAL ASSISTANT ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeallant, Krishna Kumar, was appointed on May 30, 1966 as an Apprentice Mechanic (Electrical) after selection by the Railway Service Commission and on the completion of his training period, he was appointed as a Train Examiner (Electrical). On July 11, 1974 he was appointed as a Train Lighting Inspector, Nagpur under an order passed by the Chief Electrical Engineer. That the order of appointment was made by the C. E. E. is undisputed and indeed there can be no controversy over it. The list of officers declared to be heads of departments shows that Chief Electrical Engineers are heads of their departments. By an order dated August 31, 1976, the appellant was removed from service by respondent 1, the Divisional Assistant Engineer, Central Railway, Nagpur.

(2.) The appellant thereupon filed a Writ Petition (No. 4260 of 1976) in the Bombay High Court to challenge the order of removal. A Division Bench of the Nagpur Bench of the High Court dismissed the Writ Petition summarily on October 21, 1976. Being aggrieved by that order the appellant has filed this appeal by special leave.

(3.) The Special Leave Petition came us before this Court on February 22, 1978 when a Bench consisting of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer and Justice Jaswant Singh adjourned the petition for four weeks in order to enable the respondents to file an affidavit stating as to (i) who appointed the petitioner, with special reference to the designation of the Officer who made the order of appointment and (ii) who removed the petitioner from service, with special reference to the designation of that Officer. Pursuant to that direction, two affidavits were filed by Shri S. P. Sarathy, Divisional Assistant Electrical Engineer, Central Railway, Nagpur. The petitioner filed his rejoinder affidavit on February 20, 1978. On a consideration of these affidavits the court on April 3, 1978 granted special leave to the appellant to file this appeal.