JANKI DEVI Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Written statement filed on behalf of respondents No.1 to 4 in Court is taken on record. Copy thereof has been handed over to the counsel opposite who has perused the same. He does not wish to file replication. Heard for final disposal.

(2.) The period of absence without information for which the husband of the petitioner, a cook in the police department, was inflicted the severest punishment of dismissal was that on 16.7.1998 he disappeared at 7.05 PM and reported back for duty on 6.8.1998 after absenting himself for 20 days 17 hours and 5 minutes. He again absented himself from duty without any prior permission/leave on 23.8.1998 to 30.8.1998 for 6 days 11 hours and 45 minutes. He further absented from duty from 14.9.1998 to 16.11.1998 for 57 days 7 hours and 50 minutes. For this misconduct, the husband of the petitioner was dismissed from service on 15.6.1999 after having put in about 22 years of service. He died in 2002.

(3.) The widow is before this Court praying for setting aside of the dismissal order so that she is able to claim family pension for herself including pensionary and retiral benefits which would have accrued to the husband of the petitioner had it not been dismissed. Applying the test of proportionality on quantum of punishment, this Court finds that the punishment order is far too harsh and disproportionate to the misconduct or the charges levelled. I say so because I have dealt with many police matters in the present Haryana service roster relating to cases of punishments inflicted on policeman where in cases of rank corruption, graft, absence from duty police officials/officers have escaped dismissal when the deserved it but got benefit of reduction in punishment as they went up the appellate and revision ladder. The husband of the petitioner after all was a small cook in the police department who had served for over two decades.