UNION OF INDIA (UOI) Vs. MOHAN SINGH CHAUDHRI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Defendant's first appeal directed against the order of learned Senior Subordinate Judge, Ferozepur, dated the 23rd January, 1958. By the order under appeal, the learned Senior Subordinate Judge had decreed the Plaintiff's suit and awarded him a sum of Rs. 7,655 being the arrears of his claim for pay, allowances etc, from 5th May, 1949, to 7th July. 1954, with costs against the Defendant -Appellant.

(2.) THE facts leading to the filing of the suit by the Plaintiff may now be briefly surveyed. The Plaintiff was appointed as a temporary clerk on the 3rd June, 1944, by the order of General Manager, North -Western Railways at Lahore. After the partition of the country, he joined the office of the Divisional Superintendent Eastern Punjab Railways Ferozepur on the 1st of September, 1947. In March 1949, he was charge -sheeted and after enquiry, was removed from service by the order of the Divisional Personnel Officer. It is the case of the Plaintiff that this removal was wrongful and wholly illegal. He challenged this order of dismissal through a civil suit in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Ferozepur, which was decreed in his favour on the 27th of February, 1953. The main ground on which this suit was allowed was that the appointment of the Plaintiff had been made by the General Manager and he could not have been dismissed by the Divisional Personnel Officer who is lower in rank than the General Manager. The railway authorities, who were the Defendants in the suit above -said, then preferred an appeal against that judgment in the Court of the Senior Subordinate Judge. This appeal was, however, dismissed on the 12th October, 1953. Pursuant to the dismissal of the appeal, the Plaintiff was reinstated on the 8th of July, 1954. However, a month thereafter a fresh enquiry was ordered against his conduct and during its pendency on the 24th February, 1956, he was placed under suspension. This enquiry was held by the Divisional Personnel Officer ex parte and after serving the show -cause notice, an order for the removal of the Plaintiff from service was passed by him on the 30th May, 1956. The Plaintiff then filed fn appeal against this order of removal before the Divisional Superintendent, Northern Railways, at Ferozepur, mainly contending that in view of the decision of the Civil Court, he could not have been dismissed by the Divisional Personnel Officer. However, this appeal was dismissed on the 19th September, 1956. The Plaintiff then filed a writ petition in the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India which was allowed on the 17th May, 1957, and it was held that the dismissal of the Plaintiff on 30th of May, 1956, was illegal and of no effect and he should be deemed to continue in service. The Plaintiff's case in the trial Court was that in spite of the above pronouncements by the Civil Courts, full effect had not been given to the decree that the Plaintiff continued to be in service of the Defendant -Appellant. He prayed that though he had been reinstated, full arrears of pay, allowances, bonus etc. had not yet been paid to him and hence the claim was made in the suit.

(3.) THE suit of the Plaintiff in the trial Court was resisted on the ground of limitation, want of jurisdiction, the bar of Order 2, Rule 2, Code of Civil Procedure, and the bar under Section 22, Sub -clause (d) of the Payment of Wages Act. The trial Court framed the following five issues on the pleadings of the parties: