STATE OF ORISSA Vs. KRUSHNA CHANDRA DASH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners (State of Orissa and another) have sought to challenge the validity of the Order Dated 9.12.2004 passed by the State Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack in O.A. No. 2108 (C) of 1993 by which the Tribunal has pleased to quash an order of punishment imposed on Opposite Party herein in a Departmental Proceeding initiated against him.

(2.) MR . Swain, Learned Addl. Govt. Advocate on behalf of the State contended that the Tribunal has failed to take into consideration the entire report of the Enquiry Officer as well as that of the Disciplinary Authority and merely acted upon an observation in the Enquiry Officer's report for the purpose of allowing the Original Application and quashing the order levying punishment on the Opposite Party. He further submitted that the Opposite Party had filed an appeal against the order imposing punishment on him and the Appellate authority considering the submissions of the delinquent, had reduced the amount of penalty levied on him and, therefore, the Tribunal ought not to have entertained the challenge to the order of punishment in a Disciplinary Proceeding.

(3.) ON perusal of the impugned order passed by the Tribunal as well as a copy of the Enquiry Report submitted by Sri R.C. Rath and the order passed by the Disciplinary Authority, i.e., Director of Industry, it appears that Sri R.C. Rath had been appointed as an Enquiry Officer to enquire into various allegations made against the present Opposite Party. The main allegation being that there was discrepancy in the quantity of zinc in the vat during the period when the Opposite Party was in -charge of thy stock. In the present case, the Enquiry Officer came to the following finding: In absence of the actual testing report, it is very difficult to say actually, what quantity of pure zinc is in shortage, because zinc in vat consists zinc powder, zinc and sludge (dross). In order to get the exact quantity of zinc in the vat it is suggested that, the testing laboratory under EPM of the Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar may be assigned with the work and after that, the responsibility may be fixed on the officer concerned. While handing over charge of zinc in vat from the beginning i.e. from 28.7.65 no PIO has pointed out about the testing to know the exact quantity of dross powder, zinc and sludge (dross) in the vat except Sri T.K. Satpathy, present PIO. As mentioned in the resting report, the weight calculated by taking one inch of metals zinc is 83 kgs. and one inch of slutige (dress) is 83 kgs. is quite ambiguous, as the density of malten zinc is quite different from that of the sludge. It appears that the report of the Enquiry Officer was accepted by the Disciplinary Authority but the Authority having accepted the enquiry report, it was obligatory on his part to act in terms of the observations of the Enquiry Officer and ought to have directed the Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar to compute the exact quantity of the zinc in the vat and only after such computation, responsibility could have been fixed on the officer concerned. It is clear from the report of the Disciplinary Authority that although the report of the Enquiry Officer was accepted, the suggestion for actual measurement by the Regional Research Laboratory and fixing of responsibility thereafter has not been acted upon and instead, the Disciplinary Authority himself has concluded about the shortfall in the quantity of zinc.