AWADHESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed challenging the punishment of dismissal from service awarded to the petitioner in a disciplinary action, who is an employee of the Bihar State Electricity Board ( 'the Board ' hereinafter). T he order of punishment was passed by the Joint Secretary under his memo no. 1, dated 2.1.1999. The petitioner preferred an appeal against this order but when no order was passed on his appeal for some time, he filed this writ petition in this Court on 8.1.2000. Later on, an order was passed on his appeal on 19.5.2000 by the Member, Finance of the Board. By this order, the punishment awarded to the petitioner was affirmed and his appeal was rejected. The petitioner then filed I. A. No.4020 of 2000 bringing on record, as Annexure 9, the appellate order and seeking the permission of the court to challenge that order. Permission is hereby granted to the petitioner to challenge the order passed in his departmental appeal.

(2.) THE matter relates to the petitioner 'sabsence from work from January 29 to March 8, 1992 and in order to appreciate the petitioner 'schallenge to the orders of his dismissal from service and to put the case in its proper perspective, it would be necessary to take note of some events in the past.

(3.) AT this stage, it may be noted that the petitioner, along with others, was named as accused in a criminal case being Barauni P.S.Case No. 38 of 1992, instituted under sections 302 and 209/34 of the Penal Code in connection with the killing of the son of a security guard at the Thermal Power Station. The petitioner 'sapplication for leave coincided with the institution of the case and, therefore, there was reasonable grounds for the suspicion that leave was asked for with a view to evading arrest in the criminal case. It is also undeniable that no leave was expressly sanctioned to the petitioner and in fact the competent authority had not passed any order on any of his applications for leave.