UNION OF INDIA Vs. SURENDRA NATH SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this writ petition Union of India has prayed that this court may issue writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari to quash the impugned order dated 6.3.2012 passed by the Tribunal in Original Application 798 of 2007 which is annexed as Annexure-3 to the writ petition; Union of India has also prayed that any other suitable writ, order or direction which this court may deem fit and proper in the interest of justice be issued. The respondent was awarded major penalty vide order dated 1.9.1988 by Assistant Signal and Telecom Engineer, Northern Railway (North Central Railway), Allahabad; this order was confirmed vide order dated 7.4.2009 issued by Divisional Signal & Telecom Engineer, North Central Railway, Allahabad. The respondent was posted at Fatehpur under the Chief Signal & Telecom Inspector (West) Northern Railway, Allahabad. That while working as ESM Grade III at Fatehpur, respondent was served with a Memorandum of Charges with Major Penalty; that on receipt of charge-sheet respondent submitted the reply to ASTE-1, N. Railway, Allahabad, the Disciplinary Authority; that the respondent had denied the charges levelled against him that before the charge-sheet was being issued a fact finding enquiry was conducted by the Chief Signal Inspector (West) Northern Railway, Allahabad and the relevant documents submitted that from the report of the Telegram message it was established that on 26.8.1988 at 2:47 hrs. U.P. Advance Starter Signal was failed, the respondent replaced the fuse bulbs of signal and it started functioning; that again respondent got a massage from the porter of Bindki Road Station about failure of signal, he immediately went to West Cabin and when he lowered the signal it indicated red instead of green, so there was some big fault in signal; that he came to Station and he took key of Relay Room at 5:50 hrs. and he opened the cabin and he saw TPR and SR Relay were down; that the respondent immediately went to U.P. Advance Signal with his Khalasi and he saw that advance signal was broken and information was given by the respondent to Signal Inspector-I, Fatehpur; that he also gave a memo to RPF at 5:50 hrs. for theft; that the charge-sheet was served on respondent and it was wrongly prepared that the fault occurred only once to save Signal Inspector-1, Bindaki Road, Fatehpur; that the respondent was put under suspension with effect from 28.8.1988 by the ASTE, Northern Railway, Allahabad; that the respondent made a representation and the Disciplinary Authority appointed Sri. A.K. Chakravarty as Signal Inspector (D-II) Northern Railway, Allahabad as Enquiry Officer vide order dated 1.3.1989; that when no action was taken by Sri. A.K. Chakravarty, Enquiry Officer in this case and thereafter, Sri. M. N. Singh, ASTE, Northern Railway, Tundla was appointed as Enquiry Officer by the Senior Divisional Signal & Telecom Engineer, N. Railway, Allahabad; that the Senior DSTE, N. Railway, Allahabad the Revisionary Authority further appointed another Enquiry Officer Sri Sandeep Mathur, ASTE, N. Railway, Kanpur in place of Sri M.N. Singh, ASTE, Tundla; when no action was taken by Sri Sandeep Mathur, the Appellate Authority further appointed Sri A.K. Saxena, ASTE, N. Railway, Kanpur as Enquiry Officer in this case; that the enquiry was started and continued for period of more than eight years from the date of issue of charge-sheet and the Enquiry Report was submitted on 16.12.1997; that the respondent submitted his representation on 28.1.1988 against the enquiry report well within time. Then after some lapse of time Enquiry Officer imposed minor penalty of withholding of increment temporarily for one year w.e.f. 1.4.2007; that the respondent preferred an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal imposed the penalty w.e.f. two months from 2.1.2007.

(2.) Aggrieved by the aforesaid orders at the behest of the petitioners, the respondent preferred Original Application before the CAT and the CAT pleased to allow the said Original Application and major penalty dated 21.9.1988 is quashed and set aside the order of punishment dated 7.9.2006 passed by the Disciplinary Authorities an order of punishment awarded by Appellate Authority dated 7.4.2007 was quashed and set aside. The CAT has further directed the petitioners to consider the matter of promotion of the respondent to the Court of ESN Grade II, ESM Grade I and JE Grade II from the date when his juniors have been prompted.

(3.) The petitioners filed this present writ petition against the order passed by the Tribunal dated 6th March, 2012.