RAJESH KUMAR TOMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed by the petitioner praying for the following reliefs:

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner is serving as a Commandant in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (hereinafter referred to as 'ITBP') in General Duty Cadre. Vide an order dtd. 28/10/2020, a General Force Court (hereinafter referred to as 'GFC') was ordered to be convened to try the petitioner and for the said purpose to assemble on 18/11/2020 at 39th Battalion ITBP Greater Noida. On 17/11/2020, the petitioner was ordered to be kept under open arrest at 39th Battalion ITBP, Greater Noida Campus from 18/11/2020 till completion of the GFC proceedings. The place of the GFC was later changed to the Service and Supply Battalion ITBP Saboli, Haryana vide order dtd. 22/4/2021. On 6/8/2021, the GFC concluded its proceedings and the petitioner was found guilty of seven charges out of the twenty charges leveled against the petitioner; seven charges were dropped and on six charges, the petitioner was found not guilty. However, copies of the findings of the GFC were not supplied to the petitioner. By an order dtd. 10/8/2021, the GFC sentenced the petitioner to rigorous imprisonment for one year with dismissal from services and forfeiture of all arrears of pay and allowances and other public money payable to him at the time of dismissal. However, again the copy of the reasons for the order was not supplied to the petitioner. On 10/8/2021 itself, the petitioner requested the commanding officer that the petitioner be retained at any ITBP facility in New Delhi or National Capital Region (hereinafter referred to as 'NCR') in order to have access to services of a legal professional for enabling him to effectively avail of the remedy under Sec. 131 of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), however, the petitioner was transported under escort to SHQ (Lucknow) ITBP and then put under closed custody without any formal order.

(3.) The petitioner further asserts that on 12/8/2021 the petitioner made an application to his commanding officer for relocation to any ITBP facility in New Delhi or in the NCR so as to enable him to present a pre-confirmation petition under Sec. 131 of the Act against the order of the GFC. The petitioner also requested that the record of the GFC be provided to the petitioner in order to enable him to effectively avail of his statutory remedies under the Act. The petitioner made a similar request to the Director General cum Confirming Authority of ITBP on 13/8/2021. Having failed to receive any response, the petitioner filed the present petition.