NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ordered reinstatement of a Class IV employee of District Court who was terminated in 2007 on charges of sending a representation to Chief Minister of the state and Chief Justice of the High Court.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra said a Class-IV employee, when in financial hardship, may send a representation directly to the superior but that by itself cannot amount to major misconduct for which punishment of termination from service should be imposed.
The bench said ordinarily the findings recorded by the Inquiry Officer should not be interfered by the appellate authority or by the writ court. However, when the finding of guilt recorded by the inquiry officer is based on perverse finding, it can always be interfered, it said.
Appellant Chatrapal was sacked on the basis of false allegations of bribery and caste discrimination and sending a representation directly to the Allahabad High Court and the Chief Minister without the use of proper channel.
Perusing the charges made against the employee, the court found directly sending the representations to the High Court and Chief Minister/Minister without routing it through proper channel could not be the basis for termination.
The court also noted the appellant has cited examples of other employees of the district court, Bareilly who sent representations directly to the superiors, but no action has been taken against them.
It also pointed out the other charge of making false statement of bribery and allegation of caste discrimination in his representation was not borne out from the record.
"It is significant to notice that the appellant himself has not made any such allegation. In the said letter, he stated that it was the Central Nazir who told him that the District Judge is saying that the appellant is a Harijan employee, and he hates the people of such community," the bench said.
