Court No. - 16
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 8692 of 2018 Petitioner :- Sarvjeet Singh Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- U.C. Chaturvedi Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Ashwani Kumar Mishra,J.
Petitioner is aggrieved by an order of the Chief Development Officer, Saharanpur dated 23rd December, 2017, which records 08 charges against the petitioner, and thereafter petitioner has been held responsible for causing loss to the State, which is now proposed to be recovered. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that charges are factually incorrect, and petitioner has also submitted his reply, which has not been considered. Submission is that no independent enquiry has been conducted, nor petitioner has been associated with any such enquiry. Grievance of the petitioner is that impugned action is violative of principles of natural justice.
In the facts and circumstances, this Court finds that the order of Chief Development Officer falls short of the requirement of law, inasmuch as after noticing the charges, there is no consideration with regard to guilt of the petitioner, nor his explanation has been considered. In such circumstances, the order impugned cannot be sustained.
Writ petition is allowed. Order dated 23.12.2017 is quashed. Liberty, however, stands reserved to the respondents to proceed afresh, in accordance with law. It goes without saying that in case any enquiry is conducted in the matter, the petitioner at least would be made aware of the finding returned and shall be afforded an opportunity to confront the findings arrived at.
Order Date :- 28.3.2018 Anil