R GOVINDA RAJ Vs. GOVERNMENT TOOL ROOM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition, the petitioner who isan employee on the establishment of GovernmentTool Room & Training Centre, has prayedfor quashing an order by which the penalty ofreduction to the starting point of his pay scalehad been imposed he a disciplinary proceedingsheld against him.

(2.) The facts of the case, in brief, are these:- The petitioner was working as a Machinist Gr.IV at Government Tool Room and TrainingCentre, Bangalore, in the year 1985. He was thePresident of the Government Tool Room andTraining Centre, Unit of Bangalore MazdoorSangh, a Trade Union, registered under theTrade Unions Act. It appears that, on 16th July,1985, one Hemanth Kumar, a workman ofrespondent-1 was taken to police station at 11.45a.m. in connection with a complaint said to havebeen lodged against the said workmen. All theworkmen of the Tool Room got agitated aboutthe taking of Hemanth Kumar to the policestation. According to the petitioner, some timeearlier also a false complaint had been lodgedagainst Hemanth Kumar and he had been putto considerable harassment and torture in thepolice station and ultimately it was found thatthe complaint of theft lodged against him wasfalse. It is in this background, according to thepetitioner, the workers got agitated and thereforeall the workers left the work spot and went tothe Police Station and they returned to work onlywhen Hemanth Kumar was released. For nearlytwo and half hours the workers had struck work.In the circumstances, disciplinary proceedingswere instituted against the petitioner by issuing an Article of Charge on 5-9-1985. The relevant portion of the allegations levelled against the petitioner reads:- CHARGE SHEET

(3.) Sri S.B. Swethadri, learned Counsel for the petitioner, urged the following two contentions: