V.M. PHILIP, KALIANKAL, HABAEL VILLA, KODUNGANOOR P.O, VATTIYOORKAVU, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, VYDUTHI BHAVAN, PATTOM P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner who was working as Office Attender in the KSEB submitted Ext.P1 application for voluntary retirement on 06.02.1995. The petitioner approached this Court seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) The petitioner submits that he did not receive any communication on his application for voluntary retirement. The respondents thereafter initiated disciplinary action against him, issuing Ext.P8 memo of charges dated 05.04.2004, which was followed by a departmental enquiry, which culminated in Ext.P17 order dated 08.12006 removing him from service with effect from 004.1995. This writ petition is filed under the above circumstances.

(3.) Even though Ext.P17 order was passed as early as on 08.12.2006, petitioner approached this Court only in the year 2016. According to the petitioner, the order Ext.P17 was not communicated to him and he came to know about it only after he submitted applications under the Right to Information Act. According to him, he came to know about the rejection of his application for voluntary retirement also, only on information collected under the Right to Information Act. He has produced Ext.P22 representation dated 15.04.2016, in which he had requested to return the original document No.1522 in respect of his property, which was produced before the respondents along with his application for house building advance in the year 1992; since the document was not received he had approached this Court in W.P.(C). No.17395/2016. He again requested to accept the application for voluntary retirement by submitting Ext.P22 representation. By judgment dated 18.05.2016, this Court directed the respondents to consider and pass orders on the said representation. Thereafter, the first respondent issued Ext.P24 order, in which it was stated that petitioner who joined KSEB on 19.12.1974 did not have qualifying service of 20 years, as on the date of his application for voluntary retirement i.e., on 06.02.1995. Accordingly, his request was declined by the Chief Engineer (Electrical) as per Rule 56 of Part III KSR. It was also stated that disciplinary action was initiated against him for the unauthorized absence and he was removed from service as per order dated 08.12.2006. The Board directed the Chief Engineer to take steps to disburse the GPF amount due to the petitioner. The petitioner approached this Court, at this stage.