ANOOP SINGH BALORIA Vs. HPSEB AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY means of this petition, the Petitioner has challenged the order Annexure A/1 whereby it has been ordered that recovery of Rs. 94,101/ - be made from him.

(2.) THE undisputed facts of the case are that the Petitioner at the relevant time was working as Junior Engineer, Chabutra station. It is not disputed that one Engineer Sh. R.C. Thakur, handed over AAA conductor to the Petitioner on 4.4.2002. The Petitioner did not take action to keep this conductor in a safe place but the conductor was left in the open and the same was stolen during the night intervening 9th April and 10th April, 2002. Thereafter, an FIR was lodged with the Police Station, Sujanpur on 10.4.2002 itself.

(3.) SH . Ajay Chandel, learned Counsel for the Petitioner contends that the second inquiry could not have been ordered. He further contends that since the store of the HPSEB available at Chabutra was at a higher level and there were stairs leading to it, this heavy conductor could not be carried to the store. There was no other store available and one person who had given his premises to be used as store by the HPSEB had locked the same. The Petitioner was, therefore, left with no choice but to leave the same in the sub station area. It is further contended that some construction work was going on and the Petitioner believed that the labourers who were carrying out the construction would ensure that no loss is caused to the conductor.