ANIL RAJ Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of present petition, the original petitioner had prayed for the following substantive reliefs:-

(2.) The facts as emerge from the pleadings are that the petitioner was initially engaged on daily wage basis by the respondents-Corporation on 2/11/1982 and thereafter as per office order dtd. 17/8/1983 (Annexure P-1), his services were regularized as Workshop Helper w.e.f. 1/7/1983. Later on, he was fixed in the pay scale of Rs.810.001440 w.e.f. 1/1/1986. When the petitioner was serving at Tara Devi with the respondents-corporation in the year 1993, he was found driving unauthorizedly a bus on 2/6/1993 at 2 p.m. from Tara Devi to Shoghi. The bus being driven by him struck with a private car bearing Registration No. HP-03-0319 near Tara Devi and he left the bus on the accidental spot. Later on, an FIR was registered against him and he was placed under suspension w.e.f. 3/6/1993. Subsequently, the petitioner was charge-sheeted vide memo. dtd. 28/7/1993 and a regular inquiry was conducted against him. The charges leveled against the petitioner were proved. The petitioner was served with a show cause notice on 23/6/1997 to impose penalty of reduction of pay by two stages for a period of two years. But after consideration of the reply submitted by him to the show cause notice, the charge-sheet dtd. 28/7/1993 was dropped and the petitioner was exonerated of the charges. The petitioner who was also facing trial for the commission of offence under Ss. 279/337 IPC and under Sec. 3/197 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was acquitted on 27/3/1997 (Annexure P-2).

(3.) The petitioner has claimed that the persons who were junior to him were promoted to the post of Welder in the year 1995, but he was promoted to the said post vide office order dtd. 19/11/1998. Further, the petitioner has claimed that he ought to have been given the initial start of pay of Rs.950.001800 w.e.f. 1/1/1986, whereas he was given the pay scale of Rs.810.001440 w.e.f. 1/1/1986. The action on the part of the respondent-Corporation in not promoting him in the year 1995 and further not granting him the pay scale of Rs.950.001800/- as granted to others is contrary to the policy and violative of cardinal principles of service rules.