S V GIYENGAR Vs. STATE OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a Deputy Chief Engineer in the service of the State of Mysore. On March 25, 1959, the Government of Mysore placed him under suspension, pending enquiry into four charges framed against him. In this writ petition, the petitioner asks that that order should be quashed.

(2.) The impugned order was made in the following circumstances : The petitioner entered the service of the erstwhile State of Hyderabad in the year 1926, as a Probationary Assistant Engineer. In June 1949, by which time he had become an Executive Engineer, ho was in charge of a project known as the Khasa-pur Project in the Bandsura Project Division of that State. In June 1951, he was called upon to explain some irregularities stated to have been committed by him in the performance of his official duties. On March 16, 1955, a notice was issued to him to show cause why he should not be proceeded against in respect of four charges which were enumerated in the enclosure to that notice. After an enquiry was made into those charges, it was decided by the Government of the erstwhile State of Hyderabad that three of the four charges had not been established and that action should be taken in respect of only the fourth charge. But, no final orders were made by that Government before that State ceased to exist by reason of the Reorganisation of States, which took place on 1-11-1956.

(3.) Under the provisions of the States Re-organisation Act, the petitioner was provisionally allotted to the new State of Mysore. But, the petitioner, however, continued to work in the new State of Andhra Pradesh in connection with a project known as the Nagarjuna Sagar Project. It is stated that this was done with the concurrence of the new State of Mysore. It was only in February 1958, that the petitioner entered upon his duties in the new State of Mysore as Deputy Chief Engineer. Thereafter, the new State of Mysore appears to have continued the proceedings started by the erstwhile State of Hyderabad in regard to the charges of misconduct framed against the petitioner. Eventually, on October 14, 1958, an order was made by the Government of Mysore. In the course of that order, after alluding to the fact that out ot the four charges framed against the petitioner, the Government of Hyderabad had exonerated him in regard to charges 1 and 2 and had given the petetioner the benefit of doubt in regard to the third charge, the Government of the new State of Mysore proceeded to hold that the fourth charge had been established. The punishment imposed by the Government of Mysore on the petitioner was that the petitioner should be compulsorily retired. He was also called upon to make good to the Government the sum of Rs. 4,578/-. In Writ Petition No. 424 of 1958, that order was set aside by this Court on the basis of a memo filed by the learned Advocate General which reads as follows: Memo As a fresh Show Cause Notice as contemplated by Article 311(2) of the Constitution was not given to the petitioner after the Chief Engineer of the then State of Hyderabad held a fresh enquiry, the respondent does not oppose the impugned order of compulsory retirement of the petitioner being set aside, without prejudice to the right of the petitioner to put forward his contentions if and when the State should take further or fresh proceedings according to law. The Hon'ble Court may be pleased to allow the Writ Petition with no order as to costs." This was done on December 9, 1958.