TAMIL NADU CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION, LTD. (BY SENIOR REGIONAL MANAGER, SOUTH ARCOT REGION, CUDDAIORE) Vs. S. PARAMASIVAM AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appeals admitted and heard on merits with the consent of the counsel for the respondents, who took immediate notice.

(2.) The short question which arises in these two appeals is whether the charge-sheets which are identical in both these cases issued to the respondents herein, who are hereinafter referred to as the petitioners, can be said to suffer from a defect indicating that they are issued by the authorities with a closed mind and thus discipline proceedings cannot, therefore, be taken against the two petitioners on the basis oil these charge-sheets. The charges are identical For the purpose of convenience we and reproducing the charge which is framed against Thirugnanasambandam, who is the respondent in Writ Appeal No. 1140 of 1986 and was the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 1680 of 1984. The charge reads as follows :

(3.) Normally, the charge framed against a delinquent is accompanied by a statement of allegations on the basis of which the charge memo is framed. In the instant case, the Senior Regional Manager of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, Ltd., hereinafter referred to as the corporation, has, however, preceded the charge by an elaborate statement of facts on the basis of which the charge has been framed. The charge, as will appear from the facts stated in the memo of charge itself consists of abusing their authority by the delinquents to show undue favour to a paddy trader by creating evidence of certain fictitious documents. Such conduct is alleged in the charge as constituting serious misconduct involving breach of trust and premotivated fraud. The facts on which the charge is based are stated in great detail. The statement of the facts also referred to the statement of the private lorry driver. There are certain recitals in the statement of facts with reference to which an objection has been raised by the petitioner to contend that the charge-sheet has been framed with a closed mind and any enquiry on the basis of the charge-sheet will now be an idle formality. After elaborately stating the sequence of events which according to the disciplinary authority show a chain of fictitious transactions, the statement of the allegations contained the following statement.