BSES RAJDHANI POWER LTD. Vs. D.P. SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent D P Sharma was employed as a Meter Reader in the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking 'DESU", which was taken over by the appellant BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd in 2002.

(2.) On 24/10/1990, the petitioner received a memo/charge-sheet, alleging that he had committed a misconduct by favouring a particular consumer in June 1980 and October 1982. An inquiry was conducted, resulting in the submission of an Inquiry Report by the Inquiry Officer 'IO", in December 1997, exonerating the respondent from the charges against him. The Disciplinary Authority 'DA' disagreed with the findings of the IO and issued a disagreement note to the respondent on 28/5/1998, opining that, according to him, the charge against the respondent was fully proved. The memo also called upon the respondent to show cause against imposition, on him, of a penalty of reduction by three stages in the time-scale of pay for a period of three years with the further stipulation that he would not earn any increments of pay during the period of reduction. The respondent replied on 26/6/1998. The DA, vide order dtd. 12/8/1998, imposed, on the respondent, the punishment proposed in the disagreement memo dtd. 28/5/1998. The respondent appealed, on 2/9/1998, to the Chairman of the erstwhile DESU. By order dtd. 11/2/1999, the Chairman reduced the punishment imposed on the respondent to reduction by two stages in the time scale for two years with cumulative effect.

(3.) Aggrieved thereby, the respondent approached this Court by way of WP (C) 3069/1999 D.P. Sharma v DVB. Consequent to the appellant stepping into the shoes of DESU in 2002, the DESU was substituted by the appellant as a respondent in the said writ petition.