NANAK CHAND Vs. DISTT. & SESSIONS JUDGE, DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner was appointed as a Lower Division Clerk in the Office of the District and Sessions Judge on 3rd March, 1964 and he retired from service on 31st March, 2005.

(2.) DURING his service, the petitioner faced three departmental proceedings which were initiated on or before 1975. In one of the departmental proceedings, he was dismissed from service on 23rd October, 1975. In view of the dismissal order, the two other departmental proceedings were kept in abeyance and no final order was passed.

(3.) HE was reinstated and promoted as Upper Division Clerk with effect from 6th June, 1980. He was upgraded to the scale of Assistant with effect from 11th November, 1986 and continued in the said scale upto 31st October, 1990. Thereafter, he was granted upgraded Senior Assistant's scale with effect from 1st November, 1990. After about 12 years and 9 months from the date of reinstatement in 1987, in 1999 the petitioner was served with a memo under Rule 15A of the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965 enclosing therewith inquiry report dated 5 th April, 1975 pertaining to the second departmental proceedings. The petitioner protested and contested, but penalty of dismissal from service was directed vide order dated 22nd September, 2003. This order was challenged in a departmental appeal, with success. The appeal was allowed by order dated 31st August, 2007. The appellate order records that the petitioner was reinstated in the year 1987 and it was wrong and incorrect for the department to sleep over the other departmental proceedings for 12 years and 9 months. The departmental inquiry initiated should have been concluded within a reasonable period.