TEJWANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether a person can be a Judge in his own case, will be the first point for determination in the present writ petition and, secondly, justice should not only be done but seems to have been done, will be the other point for consideration. In this case, though both the points may over-lap to some extent but have been viewed by me independently, in the light of the circumstances of this case.

(2.) Shri Tejwant Singh, Assistant Superintendent of Jail, has filed the present writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ of certiorari, mandamus or any other writ or direction of this Court for the quashment of the order of dismissal dated 9.8.1996 passed by the Director General of Prisons, Punjab, confirmed in appeal on 5.6.1997 and the petitioner has further prayed that he may be treated in continuous, service with all rights, benefits and privileges which had already accrued to him.

(3.) The case set up by the petitioner is that when he was posted as Accountant in the District Jail, Sangrur, he filed a Civil Suit No.323 of 1987 dated 7.8.1987 seeking a declaration to the effect that action of the defendant of not giving a promotion orders to the plaintiff due to his seniority and gradation list, was illegal, mala fide and against the rules. The suit of the plaintiff was partly decreed. The petitioner worked in the Security Jail, Sangrur, as Accountant with effect from May, 1986 to May, 1988. In the month of December, 1988 to August, 1989, the petitioner was posted at High Security Jail, Nabha, as Assistant Superintendent and received threats from the terrorists that he would be liquidated. Resultantly, the petitioner along with other officials who received the similar threats represented to the Superintendent of the concerned jail with a request to provide weapons of the safety. Keeping in view the threats to the officials serving in the jails, the Government issued instructions regarding the policy of the transfer of those Government employees who were under the threat of terrorism to safer places of their choice. These instructions were issued on 9.1.1990 vide Endorsement  No.807/868/GI/E.4/P.16-1. The petitioner, in pursuance of these instructions, requested the I.G. Prisons, Punjab, Chandigarh, through proper channel that he may be transferred to Sangrur Jail. The petitioner also represented to Chief Minister, Punjab regarding his transfer. At the relevant time, the petitioner was posted at Amritsar as Assistant Superintendent of Jail, but he was transferred to Central Jail, Ludhiana. He submitted his joining report at Ludhiana on 17.8.1994. On 5.9.1994, the transfer orders of the petitioner were cancelled. On 21.11.1994, Shri Bikram Jit Singh Sandhu was the I.G. Prisons, Punjab and he was present at Camp in Central Jail, Amritsar while on tour. The petitioner returned from his casual leave and met the I.G. Prisons, Punjab at Amritsar and requested to him for his transfer to any of the places like Malerkotla, Sangrur and Nabha as the petitioner was due to retire within five years. I.G. Prisons was annoyed with the petitioner because of the filing of the suit against the Department and, therefore, his request was not accepted and he was directed to go outside from the room. Thereafter, an order of suspension was passed against the petitioner. The petitioner requested to Shri Devinder Singh Randhawa, Assistant Superintendent, Central Jail, Amritsar and Shri Sardul Singh, Assistant Superintendent to meet I.G. Prisons. He was allowed accordingly and the petitioner prayed for the withdrawal of the suspension order. However, I.G. Prisons got annoyed and remarked that petitioner was disobeying and disrespecting the officers of the Department and he was placed under suspension. The petitioner was taken out from the room forcibly by the subordinate staff of I.G. Prisons and at the instance of I.G. Prisons, the petitioner was given severe beatings and he suffered injuries. The petitioner was kept in illegal custody up to 27.11.1994 as a result of which the petitioner had to file a criminal complaint against the officials on 13.12.1994. The petitioner was finally served with a charge sheet. The charge sheet was ignored and inquiry proceedings were initiated against the petitioner in pursuance of the order of I.G. Prisons and Shri Dhanna Singh was appointed as Inquiry Officer. The petitioner even made a representation against Shri Dhanna Singh for the change of the Inquiry Officer. The petitioner than made a representation to the Inquiry Officer not to hold an inquiry as the Inquiry Officer was biased against him. The petitioner made a representation also for the inspection of the certain record. The permission was granted to the petitioner for the inspection of the said record. When his request for the inspection of the record was still pending, the petitioner was served with a show cause notice. He submitted reply to the show cause notice and again made a request for the inspection of the record and this request was allowed. Before the inspection of the record the impugned order of the dismissal was passed on 9.8.1996. The petitioner filed an appeal before the Secretary to Government which was also dismissed on 5.6.1997 and rejection was conveyed to the petitioner on 18.11.1997. The petitioner submitted that the order of dismissal dated 9.8.1996 and the order dated 5.6.1996 are illegal, arbitrary and in violation of the principles of natural justice and are the outcome of mala fides. Though the petitioner has taken many grounds for the setting aside of these orders but the ground which was passed by the petitioner at the time of the arguments, was that the punishing authority was the Judge in its own cause and in these circumstances, the order of dismissal is violative of the principles of natural justice because it is inherent in the principles of natural justice that the justice should not only be done but seems to have been done. The petitioner even alleged that he was not supplied with the report of the Inquiry Officer before passing the impugned order.