PARMINDERJIT SINGH Vs. SHIROMANI GURUDWARA PRABANDHAK COMMITTEE, AMRITSAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the above referred writ petitions are being disposed of by this common order as the factual and legal aspects in both the petitions are similar.

(2.) For brevity, facts taken from CWP No. 17764 of 2013 are that the petitioner was recruited as Sewadar on ad hoc basis by the respondent- SGPC in the year 1991. His services were then regularised vide order dtd. 23/8/2005 (Annexure P-4/T) with effect from 1/4/2005. In the year 2010, a complaint was made against the petitioner alleging that he had caused huge loss to the Gurudwara by embezzling money from the Gurudwara account. A preliminary inquiry was conducted and on the basis of the inquiry report dtd. 9/7/2011 a charge-sheet dtd. 30/11/2011 (Annexure P-8/T) was issued against him. Charges framed against the petitioner were that by forging the signatures of one Bhai Rajdeep Singh, Granthi Shri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, on Voucher No. 190 dtd. 22/4/2010 he had got released 64,922 meter of Siropa Cloth and had sold the same to outside parties, causing huge loss to the respondent. Startlingly, the charge-sheet itself mentions that punishment of dismissal to be awarded to the petitioner(s).

(3.) In the meanwhile, the petitioner was suspended on 23/7/2011. The petitioner filed a detailed reply to the charge-sheet refuting the charges. He took a stand that when the voucher no. 190 (Annexure P-5/T) was issued on 22/4/2010, he was working as a mere helper in the Gurudwara and there were various persons who were superior to him in the hierarchy but none of them noticed any loss caused during this time. He questioned the constitution of the inquiry committee itself.