SATPAL Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was a driver with General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF). As pleaded by him in the writ petition, on December 23, 1995 he was served with a chargesheet alleging that while functioning as a driver of vehicle bearing registration No.BA88 E 59328 at Thenzawl (Mizoram), during the period October 1991 to May 1992 he misappropriated Government Stores like cement, diesel and explosives and sold the same to Shri Bhola Nath Pathak in village Thenzawl and thereby failed to maintain integrity.

(2.) As per the statement of imputation to the chargesheet, it was alleged that aforesaid fact surfaced at a Court of Inquiry, when Rs. 1,09,344/- were recovered from the Superintendent Shri S.Rangarajan.

(3.) The petitioner pleads that the inquiry was initiated under the CCS (CCA) Rules 1965 on the findings by a Court of Inquiry under the Army Act. The petitioner pleads that before the Inquiry Officer said Bhola Nath Tiwari never appeared as a witness and that one K.Vasudevan, an LDC in the department simply tendered Bhola Nath's statement recorded during Court of Inquiry proceedings.