PREMCHAND BALARAM PARDESHI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India takes exception to the Judgment and Order dated 23rd February, 2001 passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No. 467 of 2000 by which judgment and order, the said original application and the Misc. Application No. 272 of 2000 for condonation of delay came to be rejected.

(2.) The factual matrix involved in the above Petition can be stated thus : The petitioner was appointed as Guard - Class III some time in April, 1980. The respondent No. 2 herein, who was the Inspector General of Prison of Yerawada Central Prison, placed the petitioner under suspension by an order dated 25-11-1992 in view of Crime No. 296/1992 registered against the petitioner and three others for the offences punishable under sections 302, 116, 120(B) and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3, 7, 25 and 26 of the Arms Act and sections 4 and 6 of the T.A.D.A. Act. The respondent No. 2, by virtue of the powers conferred under Article 311(2) (b) of the Constitution of India, issued an order dismissing the petitioner. In the said order it has been recorded that it was not practicable to hold Departmental Enquiry against the petitioner and, therefore, the authority was satisfied that the said enquiry had to be dispensed with and the authority accordingly passed the dismissal order.

(3.) Insofar as the criminal case is concerned, the matter went to trial and the petitioner came to be discharged from the said criminal case by the learned Ilnd Additional Sessions Judge, Pune. It appears that other three accused also came to be discharged along with the petitioner. Thereafter on 3rd January, 2000, in view of the discharge from the said Criminal Case, the petitioner made a representation to the respondent No. 2 for reinstatement in service. Since the said request was not acceded to by the respondents, the petitioner filed an Application being Original Application No. 467 of 2000 before the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai for quashing and setting aside the order of dismissal dated 6-2-1993. Since there was a delay in filing the said Original Application, the petitioner filed Misc. Application No. 272 of 2000 for condonation of delay.