NARAYAN DAS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner -- until lately Rural Welfare Inspector in the Tribal and Rural welfare Department, Government of Orissa -- challenges in this writ petition the order of the Government of Orissa dated November 6, 1964 by which he was discharged from service on the ground of alleged misappropriation by him of public funds under items discussed in the said order agreeing with the enquiring officer's (Additional District Magistrate Keonjhar) report in the departmental proceedings against the petitioner.

(2.) THE main grounds on which the said Government order is challenged are, in substance, these: Unfair discrimination in that no opportunity was given to the petitioner to be assisted by a lawyer in the proceedings before the Enquiring officer. Besides, the petitioner was also not given any opportunity to effectively cross-examine the witnesses in that copies of the previous statements by the witnesses before the Vigilance Inspector were not supplied to the petitioner in spite of request. It was submitted that the punishing authority did not apply its mind in awarding the punishment to the petitioner.

(3.) IN 1949, the petitioner -- a plucked Matriculate as he describes himself -- was appointed as a Laboratory Attendant in Entomological Section (under Director of agriculture), Government of Orissa. The same year, he was appointed a Sardar in the Cut-tack Farm. In 1951, he was appointed as an Agricultural Teacher. In 1956 he was appointed Social Worker under the Tribal and Rural Welfare Department of the Government of Orissa in 1959, he was promoted as Rural Welfare Inspector