ABHIJIT SUKLA DAS Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has challenged an order dated 10.07.2017 by which he is dismissed from service.

(2.) Brief facts are as under: The petitioner was appointed as a Rifleman (GD) in Tripura State Rifles on 25.09.2002. The petitioner was granted earned leave of 20 days from 22.12.2015 to 10.01.2016. After availing such earned leave, the petitioner did not resume his duties. He remained on unauthorized leave for a long period of time on account of which the disciplinary authority instituted a departmental inquiry against the petitioner by issuing a departmental charge sheet dated 15.09.2016. The charge against the petitioner was that after availing 20 days of earned leave, the petitioner was to resume duty on 10.01.2016. However, he remained continuously on unauthorized leave from 11.01.2016 till the date of issuance of the charge sheet. It was alleged that this act of the petitioner was unbecoming of a member of the Tripura State Rifles, thus committing gross misconduct.

(3.) It appears that several attempts at serving notices to the petitioner during the departmental inquiry were made by the department despite which the petitioner did not participate in the departmental proceedings. The inquiry officer, therefore, conducted an ex parte departmental inquiry and submitted his report dated 25.05.2017 to the disciplinary authority. In this report itself he had outlined the reasons for conducting ex parte departmental inquiry. He noted that four notices were served to the petitioner through special messengers and registered post with AD at his home address giving him ample opportunity to participate in the departmental inquiry by engaging a defence assistant despite which the petitioner chose to remain ex parte.