ANIL KUMAR BARUA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition, the petitioner is questioning the legality of the disciplinary proceedings launched against him and of the order dated 3-1-2008 issued by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Government of Assam, Secretariat Administration (Estt.) (respondent 2) imposing a penalty of reduction of rank in the post of Junior Administrative Assistant and other consequential orders.

(2.) The facts of the case, as projected by the petitioner, may be briefly referred to at the outset. The petitioner was initially appointed as Lower Division Assistant (which is now re-designated as Junior Administrative Assistant or "JAA" for short) whereafter he was promoted to the post of Upper Divisional Assistant (now re-designated as Senior Administrative Assistant or "SAA" for short). While he was serving as SAA in the Department of Implementation of Assam Accords, Assam Secretariat, the Chief Secretary of Assam served a show cause notice bearing dated 22-7-2003 upon him along with statements of allegations charging him with entering into conspiracy, defrauding and misleading the Government by incorporating misleading notes, pasting the original one in the file and incorporating the name of a firm with vested interest in contravention of Rule 3(i)(ii) and (iii) of the Assam Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, 1963. It is the case of the petitioner that clause 6 of the statement of allegations itself would indicate that the disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him with a pre-determined mind and with an intention to hold him guilty of the charges leveled against him. Anyway, the petitioner submitted his written statement of defence on 12-9-2003 denying all the charges leveled against him. He clarified that from 19-12-2001 to 3-1-2002, while he was on earned leave, on the telephonic request of Mr. Gagan Patar, the then Under Secretary to the Government of Assam, Home (A) Department, he visited his office chamber on 27-12-2001 at about 11.30 AM where he prepared a draft sanctioning letter with a note on the note sheet as per his direction and dictation but without putting his signature anywhere as he was on leave on that day.

(3.) The petitioner also stated that he was preparing all these letters and notes like a copyist only as he had to obey the instruction of his superior officer in the Department under whom he was working. According to the petitioner, the five charges leveled against him were similar, but the disciplinary authority unnecessarily divided the charge into five charges by making repetitions without any substantial difference. Apparently, dissatisfied with the explanation of the petitioner, the respondent No. 1 vide his letter dated 27-10-2003 launched the departmental enquiry against the petitioner by appointing Shri S.C. Bhuyan, Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam as the Enquiry Officer to conduct the enquiry and Mrs. Aruna Sonowal, Deputy Secretary to the Government of Assam, Secretariat Administration (Estt.) Department as the Presenting Officer. In the course of enquiry, only one witness, namely, the said Gagan Patar, was examined but the remaining 4 cited witnesses were never examined by the Enquiry Officer: the petitioner examined himself as the defence witness. It is the case of the petitioner that ever since the date of his appearance before the Enquiry Officer on 27-10-2003, he was no more aware of the progress of the enquiry as nothing was intimated to him for the preceding three and half years, which led him to believe that the proceedings had been dropped. No enquiry report was furnished to him. However, much to his consternation, the order dated 2-8-2007 was served upon him after a gap of three and half years by which he was found guilty of all the charges brought against him and was awarded the penalty of reducing his rank to the level of JAA. Consequently, the petitioner was transferred as JAA and posted to Public Enterprises Department.