(1.) THE petitioner is an Assistant Operator, belonging to the regular work establishment category in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. He was served with a charge memo on 14 May 1982 by the Superintending Engineer (Operations), Ennore Thermal Power Station, who is the appointing authority that he contracted second marriage, when the first wife was alive and that he claimed M. R. I. bills in the name of second wife. He was also called upon to submit his explanation as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. He gave his explanation on 9 August 1982 setting out the circumstances under which he happened to live with the woman order than his wife. Disciplinary Proceedings were initiated against him and it has found that he was guilty of bigamy. A show-cause notice, dated 5 August 1983, was issued to him, directing him to show cause as to why he should not be punished by reverting him to the post of "helper" for a period of three years, from the rank of the "assistant Operator". He submitted his explanation thereto in December 1983. A memo, dated 11 September 1984, was issued by the third respondent that the show-cause notice issued earlier in 5 August 1983 was cancelled, but on the same day, another memo was issued by the third respondent, calling upon the petitioner to show cause as to why the punishment of removal from service should not imposed on him. At that stage, the petitioner approached this Court with this writ petition, praying for the issue of a writ of certiorarified mandamus to call for the records and to quash the same.
(2.) THE contention of the petitioner in short is that the entire disciplinary proceeding is unsustainable in view of the fact that bigamy is not a misconduct, as defined by the Standing Orders, governing his services. It is also contended that if the management wants to enforce some other condition, which is found in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Employees Conduct Regulations, it should have taken appropriate proceeding for modifying the standing orders, as prescribed by the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.
(3.) STANDING Order 30 sets out the acts and the omissions constituting misconduct. There is a list of 36 such acts and omissions. Standing Order 31 provides for punishment for misconduct and Standing Order 32 provides for the procedure to be followed in disciplinary cases.