RANBIR SINGH Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner's grievance is in respect of his dismissal by order dated 07.11.1997; his challenge before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT/ Tribunal) , after exhaustion of departmental remedies failed. The Tribunal by its order impugned in the present case " dated 29.01.2003 in O.A. No. 2000/2000, rejected the application.

(2.) THE petitioner Constable employed with the Delhi Police was issued a charge -sheet which alleged that he was a member of a team which raided a shopkeeper " one Subhash Chand, on suspicion that he was complicit in manufacturing and storing spurious cold drinks. During the course of that raid, 70 crates of cold drinks were apparently seized and recovered. The complainant/ informant Subhash Chand, who was an accused in that case, alleged that the petitioner and the others demanded illegal gratification and the complainant and his servants were illegally detained for more than twenty hours. The charge -sheet proceeded on the averment that the Special Staff had lodged a false D.D. No. 11 mentioning that a tempo carrying cold drinks had been checked and the informant/ complainant had been brought to the Special Staff for verification. In the joint inquiry, the petitioner along with other members of the team S.I. Net Ram, Constable Jatan Bir Singh and ASI Jiya Ram were proceeded with. The petitioner's defence was one of denial " his version was that at that time, i.e. in the evening of 15.04.1996, he was part of another team headed by S.I. Devender Singh of Police Station North -East Special Staff, which was on "Ilaka Gasht" and during the course of which, they came upon gambling activities, which led not only in reporting, but eventually led to the conviction of the accused.

(3.) THE Tribunal upon being approached, initially, allowed the application on the ground that the concerned disciplinary authority was the Additional Commissioner, whose prior approval is pending. This determination was, however, set aside and the matter was remitted to the CAT for fresh determination on merits. It is in these circumstances that the impugned order was made.