GURNAM SINGH Vs. COLLECTOR, PATIALA AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of two appeals filed by the appellant Gurnam Singh being R.S.A. Nos. 4067 and 4068 of 2003 as the same questions of facts and law are involved in both the appeals. The necessity to file two appeals has arisen because the suit filed by the plaintiff-appellant was partially decreed by the Ld. Civil Judge (Jr. Division), Patiala on 23.5.2001 which lead to the filing of two appeals before the Addl. Dist. Judge. One appeal was filed by the appellant claiming that the whole suit deserved to be decreed and the other appeal was filed by the defendant- respondents for setting aside the judgment and decree dated 23.5.2001 of the Civil Judge in favour of the plaintiff-appellant.

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that the plaintiff-appellant filed Civil Suit No. 331 T on 30.11.1996 seeking a declaration that the orders dated 9.11.1981 and 16.11.1981 passed by the Forest Conservator, Patiala, South Circle and Shivalik Circle respectively were illegal, null and void, without jurisdiction, ultra vires, unconstitutional and against the service rules governing the service of the plaintiff-appellant. According to the impugned orders, the plaintiff-appellant was ignored for the purpose of grant of seniority and he was denied confirmation as a Forester. It was claimed that the plaintiff-appellant was entitled to be confirmed as a Forester from the date persons junior to him namely Nirmal Singh, Daljit Singh and others were confirmed as such and their seniority was fixed. It was further claimed that against the adverse remarks doubting his integrity in respect of the year 1978-79 an appeal was filed which remained undecided by the department till the filing of the suit. It has been asserted that the plaintiff-appellant had made representations and the last of the representation is dated 23.9.1994 which has been kept pending. It is further claimed that adverse remarks recorded in the report of 1978-79 were subjected to an enquiry conducted by two Forest Rangers Shri Sital Dass and another and the plaintiff-appellant was found innocent.

(3.) The stand taken by the defendant-respondents was that the suit was hopelessly time barred as per the law declared by the Supreme Court in the case of State of Punjab v. Gurdev Singh,1991 3 SCT 488 It was further claimed that there was no cause of action which might have accrued to the plaintiff-appellant after his retirement and in the detailed particulars of the service rendered by the plaintiff-appellant to the defendant-respondent it has been mentioned that the plaintiff-appellant joined as a Mali w.e.f. 2.10.1956. Thereafter he was promoted as a Forest Guard w.e.f. 18.8.1961 vide office order No. 47. Plaintiff-appellant belongs to reserved category of scheduled caste. The case of the plaintiff-appellant was considered for confirmation as a Forester in the meeting of the Conservators held on 29.10.1981 and he was not found suitable for confirmation as a Forester as per the criterion fixed by the Committee. The reasons for non- suitability of the plaintiff was that his confidential report was unsatisfactory and remarks of honesty doubtful for the year 1978-79 which were conveyed to him were in existence, and no appeal against those remarks was filed. Therefore, there is no question of any cause of action for issuance of direction to decide the afore-mentioned case. It was denied that there is any relevancy of the enquiry conducted by Shri Sital Dass in respect of the report of the plaintiff-appellant for the year 1978-79. It has further been pointed out that adverse remarks have been conveyed to the plaintiff-appellant for the years 1970-71, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79 and 1982-83.