CHUNI LAL PESHIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal under the letters patent against the judgment of Anant Singh J - sitting singly by which he dismissed a writ petition filed before him by the appellant. The appeal was heard by a Bench consisting of Jaswant Singh and Mufti Baha -ud -Din JJ. who have differed on several points of law and the case has been referred to me for a final decision.

(2.) THIS appears to be an unfortunate case of a petty overseer who has been made the victim of a relentless and recalcitrant controversy between a Chief Engineer and his Minister as a result of which the Government ultimately decided to vindicate the stand of the Chief Engineer at the cost of the career of the petitioner - The facts of the case have been narrated in detail in the judgment of my brother, Jaswant Singh J. and need not be repeated here. Put briefly the facts of the case are as follows.

(3.) THE appellant was an employee of the State working as an overseer in the grade of Rs. 145 -350 in the Roads and Buildings Department of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir -On 24 -9 -64 he was transferred to the Designs and Planning Department. After a year he was ordered to proceed to Jammu along with the Executive Engineer R&B Investigation Division Jammu by an order passed by the Chief Engineer (Director Designs and Planning) with whom he had been working. Before, however, being deputed to this department, the appellant was assured that his lien will be retained in his parent department, namely, that of Roads and Buildings Department. This order was passed by the Government on 13 -10 -64. On his transfer to Jammu, the appellant made a representation before the Chief Engineer Designs and Planning for re -considering his transfer, and having failed to get any redress, he proceeded on leave on medical grounds which was granted to him on 20 -8 -1965. After the expiry of this leave the petitioner applied for further extension of leave right up to 22 -11 -1966. In the meantime the father of the appellant made a representation to the Minister -in -charge for transfer of the appellant to Srinagar on humanitarian grounds, and his prayer was acceded to by Government Order dated 10 -1 -1966 by which he was transferred to the Minor Roads Investigation Division Kashmir and the Chief Engineer R&B was directed to transfer some other overseer to the Minor R&B Department Jammu in place of the appellant. This offended the Chief Engineer who had ordered transfer of the petitioner and he moved the Government through the Minister concerned for revoking the order of the Government cancelling the transfer of the appellant by the Chief Engineer - Meanwhile the Chief Engineer treated the appellant as being absent without authorised leave and started some sort of a departmental inquiry against the appellant. At the instance of the Chief Engineer the Administrative Department kept the order of transfer passed by the Government in abeyance and subsequently cancelled it by Government Order dated 13 -11 -1966. Meanwhile on 8 -4 -1966 a charge -sheet was framed against the appellant by the Executive Engineer who was asked to do so by the Chief Engineer. On 29 -12 -1966 the Chief Engineer issued a show -cause notice to the appellant and after receiving his reply ultimately passed an order dismissing him from service with effect from 18 -12 -1965 by order dated 16 -2 -1967. The appellant went up in appeal against this order to the Government, which modified the order of the Chief Engineer to this extent that the order of removal from service of the petitioner was set aside and he was reduced in rank and was put in the minimum of the grade in which he was serving the department. Against this order, the appellant filed a writ petition which was heard by Anant Singh J. who dismissed the petition on 28 -8 -1968. Hence this appeal before the letters patent Bench.