ABDUL RAUF MOHAMMED KHAJA Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of parties taken up for final hearing.

(2.) By the present petition, the petitioner assails judgment and order dtd. 16/8/2017 passed by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Bench at Aurangabad (for short 'Tribunal') in Original Application No. 482 of 2015. Before the Tribunal, the petitioner had challenged (i) order passed by the Disciplinary Authority dtd. 15/12/2008 imposing the penalty of reduction to the minimum pay scale (ii) order dtd. 23/9/2010 passed by the Appellate Authority modifying the penalty to that of reduction to the minimum of the pay scale permanently and (iii) order dtd. 3/3/2015 rejecting the revision petition. By the judgment and order impugned in the present petition, the Tribunal has proceeded to dismiss the original application.

(3.) We must note at the outset that the Tribunal has erroneously observed in para No. 2 of the judgment that the petitioner was challenging the order of dismissal from service. By order dtd. 15/12/2008, the disciplinary authority had imposed penalty of reduction to the minimum of the pay scale without specifying any period. The appellate authority while rejecting the appeal by order dtd. 23/9/2010 directed that the reduction to the minimum of the pay scale would be on permanent basis. This is the ultimate penalty which was the subject matter of challenge before the Tribunal.