C S RAJAGOPALA AYYAR Vs. STATE OF MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this writ petition is a dismissed Government servant and he seeks to issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ for quashing the order of dismissal. The facts necessary to appreciate the legal points raised by the petitioner against the order of his dismissal are these: The petitioner had put in nearly thirty years of service under the Govern ment of Madras and the last post that he held was as Sty. Sub-Magistrate, Pollachi in Coimba-tore District. While so he was engaged in the trial of a case of wrongful confinement and ex tortion against one Chinnaswaml Gounder, an in fluential and wealthy person, of the place, and his two sons and some others between March and June 1949. On 21-61949 an application waa filed for the adjournment of the case on produc tion of a medical certificate by the principal accused. This was granted and on the next day the case was transferred to the file of the Addi tional First Class Magistrate, Pollachi.

(2.) The circumstances which led to the transfer of the case from the file of the petitioner's court to that of the Additional First Class Magistrate was that a statement was made by one Sethurama Goundan before the District Magistrate, Coimbatore that the petitioner personally negotiated for a bribe with the said individual as a condition for acquitting the accused. The petitioner was Immediately placed under suspension and the District Magistrate referred the complaint against the petitioner to the "X" branch of the C. I. D. of police for investigation. The Government after considering the report of the C. I. D. referred the case against the petitioner for enquiry and report to the Tribunal for disciplinary proceedings. The charges which were framed against the petitioner and which were enquired into by the Tribunal were:

(3.) The enquiry, before the Tribunal was very elaborate and after consideration of the evidence, the Tribunal found in regard to charge No. I that the main evidence of the prosecution witnesses could not be believed but went on to state