NAND RAM AND ORS. Vs. UOI AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this common judgment, we shall dispose of three petitions assailing a common verdict dated 28th November, 2013 passed by the respondent No. 3 - Commandant, BSF against the petitioners dismissing them from service and inflicting a punishment of one year on them. For the sake of convenience, the facts of W.P.(C) 9853/2005 are being referred to.

(2.) Cut to bone, facts of the case are that in the year 1987, the petitioner was appointed to the post of a constable in the respondent -Border Security Force (BSF) and in due course, he was promoted to the rank of Head Constable. On the night of 5/6th November, 2003, when the petitioner was posted at the Border Out Post at Nimtita in West Bengal, he had headed an ambush party and along with the other petitioners in W.P.(C) 10085/2005 and W.P.(C) 10204/2005, was deputed in Char area of river Padma. At about 12:30 p.m. (mid night), the ambush party observed that two boats loaded with contraband goods were coming towards the ambush point. These boats were coming from Maldapara Ghat side and they were headed towards Bangladesh. The ambush party seized both the boats, which were full of contraband medicines and cattle.

(3.) It is the respondent's version that the owner of the contraband goods that were lying in the boats had entered into a deal with the members of the BSF ambush party, namely the three petitioners herein, and the ambush party had agreed to release the seized boats for a sum of Rs. 1,40,000/ -. However, the owner of the contraband goods i.e. the smuggler was able to arrange a sum of Rs. 80,000/ - and resultantly, the ambush party released one boat on the same night and confiscated the other boat. Later on, the ambush party had also seized another boat loaded with nine cattle. A third party informed the Commandant Head about the seizure of the two boats, one loaded with contraband medicines and the other loaded with cattle.