KEDARNATH MAHAPATRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant before this Court has filed this writ appeal being aggrieved by the order passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.No.3680 of 2018, dtd. 4/5/2020.

(2.) The facts of the case reveal that the appellant before this Court, who is serving as a Principal at Atomic Energy Central School-2, was subjected to disciplinary proceedings as well as prosecution for an offence under Sec. 354(a) of IPC read with Sec. 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. An FIR was lodged on 24/11/2017 and later on he was placed under suspension by an order dtd. 7/11/2017 and enquiry proceedings were initiated on 29/11/2017. The enquiry officer was appointed on 1/8/2017 and in that backdrop, the writ petition was preferred before this Court for staying the departmental enquiry proceedings. The learned Single Judge has dismissed the writ petition, against which the present writ appeal has been preferred and the fact remains that there was no interim order granted by the Division Bench. We are in the year 2022.

(3.) This Court is of the considered opinion that as no interim order was granted by the Division Bench, the respondent is under an obligation to conclude the departmental enquiry at an early date.