DILIP KUMAR CHAKRABORTY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WAY back in the year 1973, to be precise on 6th June, 1973, the writ petitioner first joined the West Bengal State Electricity Board (Board in short)in its Kharagpur Branch, 'as an assistant' and since then had been posted as "assistant" in different places. Eventually, the petitioner became a permanent employee of the Board and continued to serve as an assistant as before. The case of the petitioner is that he became a victim of acute depression and as such was unable to work and to attend his office since 12th October 1992 till 13th August, 1997. For this long period he had to undergo treatment and the case of his mental depression and consequent disability on his part to attend his office was duly certified by the Doctor who treated him, namely, one Dr. S. Chakraborty who the petitioner has described in paragraph '2' of the petition as "mental heart specialist". For the sake of convenience the text of the certificate issued by Dr. Chakraborty is set out below:

(2.) DURING the illness of the petitioner the wife of the petitioner first wrote to the Station Superintendent of the Board, at Kamarpukur, in the district of hooghly on 16 February, 1993 that her husband Dilip Kr. Chakraborty was 'not behaving with' her and her 'two daughters in a normal way'. She 'consulted with a Doctor in this connection who intimated that' her husband 'not physically fit and mentally alert to perform any official duty'. Her husband was not, therefore, 'in a position to join' the office 'due to his mental disability'. On the above basis the wife requested the Station Superintendent "to take a considered view in this regard" till her husband's recovery.

(3.) THE wife wrote yet another letter to the Divisional Engineer, Serampore, in the district of Hooghly on 1st June, 1993 where the wife of the petitioner again said that her husband was suffering from mental depression since 12th October, 1992. The husband was advised by the Doctor to take rest and not to attend the office, then she wrote as follows: