SATISH KUMAR Vs. DIRECTOR GENERAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of present petition, the petitioner has challenged the order dated 30.11.1999 passed by the respondent authority whereby a penalty of reduction of pay by one stage for a period of one year without future effect is imposed.

(2.) THE petitioner was working as Immigration Clearing Officer at the IGI Airport, New Delhi. After departmental inquiry, disciplinary authority passed order on 30.11.1999 whereby a penalty of reduction of pay by one stage for a period of one year was imposed on the petitioner. Against the said order, the petitioner preferred appeal before the respondent No.2. Thereafter the petitioner was served show cause notice dated 19.04.2000 issued by the respondent No. 2 wherein the respondent No. 2 proposed to enhance the penalty imposed by the disciplinary authority from "reduction of pay" to " removal from service". The petitioner therefore, preferred this petition. During the pedency of the petition, the respondent No. 2 vide order dated 23.12.2000 dropped the show cause notice dated 19.04.2000 proposing the removal from service and confirmed the punishment awarded by the Disciplinary Authority vide order dated 30.11.1999.

(3.) LEARNED advocate for the petitioner further contended that the petitioner asked for the old passport to establish Sukhdev's earlier departure from India. The petitioner asked for his old passport which was issued from Vencouver ( Canada) and no departure stamp was available on it and no endorsement of old passport was available. He further submitted that there is no violation of FRRO's instruction dated 22.12.1993 if the petitioner demanded old passport because as per para 2 of FRRO Circular dated 22.12.1993 the clearing officer can ask if he has any doubt about forgery/suspicion of forgery of the passport produced by the pax. Hence this may not be considered as violation of FRRO instructions without any documentary evidence on record.