Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Jan 7: The State High Court has quashed an order by police department, sacking in 2014 a policemen who was “ill” and not afforded an opportunity of being heard as no regular departmental inquiry was conducted against him.
A bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey passed the orders on a petition filed by one Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, assailing the validity of the 19 November 2014 order, whereby he was discharged from service by government.
Bhat through his counsel had challenged the order, contending that he was never given a chance of hearing and that the order was violative of the rules of natural justice and the rules governing his service conditions. He said no show cause notice was issued to him and no enquiry, whatsoever, was conducted against him in accordance with the rules. He also pleaded that it is also not indicated anywhere as to when the enquiry was conducted which culminated into the order nor has the record of the enquiry been made available to him. Bhat had also pleaded that he took ill and had to undergo medical treatment at various institutions to cure the disease with which he was suffering which had immobilized him for quite a long time.
Bhat said he knocked the doors of the government’s concerned quarters by filing a number of representations but fate had it for him that these were never decided. In the premises, he had prayed quashing of the order
The concerned officials on stated that no cause of action has arisen to the employee for maintaining the present petition and he has suppressed the material facts and has tried to mislead the Court. He pleaded that Bhat absented unauthorizedly w.e.f. 15th of October, 2013 and was, accordingly, marked absent. It has further been stated that the petitioner was repeatedly directed to resume his duties, which he failed and, finally, a final notice dated 27th of August, 2014, was served upon him which was published in a local Daily also, whereby he was directed to resume his duties, but he failed to do so, as a consequence of which, he was discharged from service vide the order.
“From the perusal of the record, which has been made available to this Court, it can be seen from a naked eye that no enquiry, whatsoever, as provided under the rules, appears to have been conducted in the matter. The petitioner has been thrown out by an order of discharge without following the due procedure of law, with a premeditated design to divest him of his right to participate in the enquiry,” the court said.
The petitioner, the court said, appears to have made all attempts to persuade the authorities that his absence from duty was not willful and deliberate, but was motivated by the reasons (such as illness).
“This representation of his has not been given any consideration nor did it have any impact on the authorities concerned,” the court said, adding, “An opportunity of being heard is the ‘sine-qua-non’ of every enquiry and in case of any departure thereof, reasons justifying so have to be spelt out. The principles of natural justice appear to have been violated with impunity in this case,” the court said.
The defense of the petitioner has been shut by deception and the conduct of a full dressed enquiry has been given a complete go by, the court said.
Subsequently the court quashed the order and directed the respondents to reinstate Bhat in service forthwith. “The respondents shall, however, be free to hold a regular enquiry against the petitioner strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Manual, if they so choose. Further, if the respondents decide to hold any enquiry, the same shall be initiated and brought to its logical conclusion, as far as practical, within a period of two months”.
|
