R.C. GUPTA Vs. P.S.E.B.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Shri R.C. Gupta, petitioner has filed the present writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India against the Punjab State Electricity Board (hereinafter called, the Board,) for quashment of charge-sheet dated 26.3.1999 and the case set up by the petitioner can be summarised in the following manner :-

(2.) The petitioner joined the service of the respondent in the year 1996. He became Executive Engineer in 1972. He was promoted to the post of Superintending Engineer in 1984 and then to the post of Chief Engineer in the year 1998. He was allowed to retire on attaining the age of superannuation w.e.f. 30.6.1998. After his retirement, the petitioner was served with the impugned charge-sheet Annexure P-1 dated 26.3.1999 on the allegations that while working as Executive Engineer, Civil Construction Divison No. 1 RTP. PSEB Ropar, a scheme was formulated to construct 318 houses Type No. 1 (Single storey) at Noohan Colony, Ropar Thermal Plant, on account of the acts of omission and commision the department suffered a loss of Rs. 20/22 lac and these acts were committed by the petitioner in order to help a contractor. The summaryof allegations can be reproduced as under :-

(3.) Now the challenge has been given by the petitioner mainly on the ground that as per rule 2.2(b) of the Punjab Civil Service Rules, Volume-II the petitioner could not be served with the charge-sheet of the events which had taken place four years prior to the date of his retirement and especially when the petitioner was allowed to go free to his house in spite of the fact that he wrote a letter dated 5.3.1998 requesting the authorities that if any action is contemplated against him that may be taken so that the petitioner maybe able to go to his house after attaining the age of superannuation in peace. In short, the grievance of the petitioner is that the charge-sheet pertains to the events of 1983-84, prior to the date of his superannuation and on such stale allegatons a departmental action cannot be contemplated.