K S MANJUNATHA Vs. MAZAGON DOCK LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN filing the instant writ petition, the petitioner, who is presently working as plant manager in the establishment of respondent-company at mangalore, had prayed for issue of writ of certiorari to quash the order dated 22-1-1999 in No. Pers/ (0)/1775 passed by the respondent 2, copy as at annexure-m to writ petition, in passing whereof, the respondent 2 had communicated the petitioner that the findings of 'sealed cover shall not be acted upon in the case wherein any penalty is imposed on the officer and further for direction to the respondents to issue writ of mandamus or order or direction to open the sealed cover maintained in the case and to give effect to the recommendations of the departmental promotion committee and further to extend the benefit thereunder.

(2.) THE respondents had filed the detailed objection statement. In doing that, they had contended that it was not opening the sealed cover on the ground that the petitioner was awarded with punishment of censure in a departmental enquiry, copy as at Annexure-J to the writ petition.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri leelakrishnan, while taking me through the facts of the case and further the grounds urged in the writ petition at the outset submitted that, admittedly when the disciplinary enquiry was in progress, there was a pending proceedings in a criminal case before the cbi court at Mysore for the alleged offence under Section 5 (l) (e) and 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and that subsequently, the said criminal case ended with acquittal of the petitioner as long back as on 7-3-1988 copy of the judgment produced as Annexure-A to the writ petition. While drawing my attention to Rule 12 of the promotion rules for officers of the respondent 1-company, he had also argued that when the criminal case in question had come to a close, the respondents would have naturally opened the above sealed cover and further given effect to the recommendation of the departmental promotion committee (hereinafter referred to as dpc') to promote the petitioner from the grade of plant manager to the next higher grade.