SURESH CHANDRA MATHE Vs. JIWAJI UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner challenges the order of termination of his service dated January 23, 1986 (Annexure P-6) as also the appellate order dated September 11, 1987 (Annexure P-8), confirming the said order.

(2.) THE petitioner was temporarily appointed as a Lower Division Clerk by order dated April 21, 1982 of the Registrar, Jiwaji University, Gwalior. Previous to that, the petitioner had worked intermittently on that post. The petitioner continued to work on the temporary post until November 6, 1984, when by an order passed on that day, he was placed on probation for a period of two years. But before that, on March 23, 1984 the petitioner was granted 10% additional allowance on his basic salary with effect from April 21, 1982 for working on the post of Upper Division Clerk. On November 15, 1984, he was granted further allowance at the rate of 20% on his basic salary with effect from April 1, 1984 on the same ground of rendering service as an Upper Division Clerk. His service was however terminated before the expiry of the period of probation of 2 years,i. e. , on January 23, 1986 by a non-speaking innocuous order, Annexure P-6, whereby, the petitioner was also given one month's salary of Rs. 946. 90 in lieu of one month's notice. The petitioner's appeal carried to the Executive Council of Jiwaji University was dismissed, vide information given to the petitioner dated September 11, 1987, Annexure P-8.

(3.) IT is also not disputed that on August 3, 1984, while the petitioner was serving in the University, he was detailed on the duty to receive examination fee from students of B. A. Part II Examination. On that day, the petitioner had received, among other sums, a sum of Rs. 36/towards examination fee from a student named Ku. Sunita Yadav. The petitioner has handed over the entire sum collected throughout the day by him, excepting Rs. 36/-, to the Cashier of the University on the close of the day. What is remarkable is also the fact that whereas two copies of receipt used to be handed over to student paying the examination fee and one copy retained in the receipt book, in the case of the examination fee of Rs. 36/-received from Ku. Sunita Yadav, the petitioner happened to tear out all the three copies of the receipt from the receipt book, retaining none in the receipt book. Nearly 4 months after the above event i. e. , in the month of December, 1984, the accounts of the University came to be audited and it was then found out that Rs. 36a were deposited less. It is not disputed that the petitioner then deposited the sum of Rs. 36/-with the University. On March 11, 1985, the Registrar of the University issued a memo (Annexure P-5) to the petitioner asking him to show cause why action be not taken against him under Statute 31, Clause 13 (1) of Jiwaji University for the alleged act of defalcation and cheating. The petitioner submitted an explanation, Annexure P-5-A That was followed by the impugned order of termination dated January 23, 1986 (Annexure P-6) passed by the Registrar. No enquiry was admittedly held before passing the impugned order.