D THANGARAJ Vs. DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, COMMISSIONER OF POLICE AND DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICEE, CRIME AND TRAFFIC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner has filed the present writ petition challenging the order passed by the Director General of Police / first Respondent herein, in and by which, he has held that the charges are serious and the punishment imposed against the Petitioner is a major one.

(2.) The Petitioner was, initially, appointed as Grade-II Police Constable on 15.10.1975 and thereafter, he was promoted as Grade-I Police Constable on 29.09.1999. Subsequently, he was served with a charge memo in P.R. No. 49/95 under Rule 3(b) of the Tamil Nadu State Police Subordinate Service Rules . The allegation in the charge memo is that on 17.03.1992, the Petitioner had taken away the hand bag of one G.S. Mani and absented from duty on 17.03.1992 from 7.00 p.m. to the next day 6.00 a.m. and continued to be absent until 04.04.1992 without any leave or permission. In the enquiry, he was found guilty and thereafter, he was imposed with a punishment of reduction in time scale of pay by two stages for a period of two years without cumulative effect, by order dated 26.04.1997. Aggrieved by the said order, the Petitioner preferred an appeal unsuccessfully. But, the Appellate Authority rejected the appeal by order dated 22.07.1997.

(3.) After some time, in the year 2002, the Director General of Police issued a circular dated 26.09.2002. As per the said circular, it was decided that if any police officer is facing any minor punishment, which standing as a bar for getting promotion to higher post, the said punishment was directed to be cancelled. In view of the said circular dated 26.09.2002, the Petitioner filed a review petition before the first Respondent. During the pendency of the review petition before the first Respondent, the Petitioner has also approached the Tribunal by filing O.A. Nos. 6331/97, 1931/96 and 3425/2003 challenging the very same punishment itself. The learned Tribunal, by order dated 20.10.1993, directed the Director General of Police, Chennai, to pass orders with regard to the punishment suffered by the Petitioner in the light of the proceedings dated 26.09.2002 and further, it was sated that the Petitioner has suffered only a minor punishment.