IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 31ST DAY OF MAY, 2019 :PRESENT:
THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE L.NARAYANA SWAMY AND THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE R.DEVDAS WRIT PETITION NO.15048 OF 2017 (S-CAT) BETWEEN SRI. M. MUNIYAPPA AGED 59 YEARS, S/O MUNIYAPPA,.
WORKING AS ATTENDER, CENTRAL SILK BOARD, BASIC SEED PARK, YELAGRI HILLS, MANGALAM POST, PIN 635853 (TAMIL NADU) (BY SRI RANGANATHA S JOIS, ADVOCATE) AND 1. THE UNION OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TEXTILES, NEW DELHI 110001 REP. BY ITS SECRETARY 2. THE CHAIRMAN CENTRAL SILK BOARD, AND APPELLATE AUTHORITY, CSB COMPLEX, 4TH FLOOR, BTM LAYOUT, MADIWALA, BANGALORE 560068 3. THE MEMBER SECRETARY CENTRAL SILK BOARD, CSB COMPLEX, 4TH FLOOR, BTM LAYOUT, MADIWALA, ... PETITIONER BANGALORE 560068 4. THE DIRECTOR CENTRAL SILK BOARD, CSB COMPLEX, 4TH FLOOR, BTM LAYOUT, MADIWALA, BANGALORE 560068 (BY SRI A RAJESH, ADVOCATE FOR R1 ... RESPONDENTS SRI N S PRASAD, ADVOCATE FOR R2 TO R4) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 & 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO CALL FOR THE ENTIRE RECORDS RELATING TO THE IMPUGNED ORDER DTD:03.02.2017 OF THE HON'BLE CAT, BANGALORE MADE IN O.A.NO.170/00331/2016 VIDE ANNEXURE-A PERUSE AND QUASH THE SAME AS ERRONEOUS AND CONTRARY TO LAW AND ETC.
THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING THIS DAY, DEVDAS J., MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER The petitioner was appointed as Attender and confirmed as Chowkidar, by order dated 20.01.1988, passed by the Member Secretary of the respondent Central Silk Board. The petitioner herein was transferred from Hosur to Yelagiri and was relieved on 15.05.2010 from Hosur. Not happy with the order of transfer, the petitioner herein approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’), questioning the order of transfer. The Application filed by the petitioner was disposed of by the Tribunal on 05.07.2012, directing the petitioner to submit a representation to the respondents herein. Nevertheless, the petitioner reported for duty on 27.08.2012, at Yelagiri, the place to which he was transferred. A charge memo was issued to the petitioner for the unauthorized absence. The charges were held to be proved in the departmental enquiry. Multiple penalties were imposed on the petitioner. The statutory appeal preferred to the Chairman of the Central Silk Board was unsuccessful. Therefore, the petitioner filed an Application before the Tribunal. The Application also being dismissed, the petitioner seeks to assail the order of punishment and the order of the Tribunal.
2. Sri. Ranganath S Jois, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that by order dated 20.04.2015, the Director, Central Silk Board, compulsorily retired the petitioner herein. The main contention of the petitioner, which was also put forth before the Tribunal is that the Director could not have passed the impugned order of punishment, since the Director is not the appointing authority/disciplinary authority. The learned counsel points out from the order of the Tribunal that the Tribunal was carried away by a resolution dated 04.05.2002, passed by the Board in its 111th Meeting, allegedly delegating the powers of the disciplinary authority. It was observed by the Tribunal that by a communication dated 24.09.2013, the respondent herein had clarified this position to the petitioner herein.
3. Learned counsel for respondents No.2 to 4, Sri.
N S Prasad, reiterates the position that the Board in the resolution dated 04.05.2002, delegated the disciplinary powers from the Member Secretary of the Board to the Director.
4. We have gone through minutes of the 111th Meeting of the Central Silk Board, held on 04.05.2002, at Bangalore. Item No.5 pertains to consideration of the proposal for delegation of administrative, financial and disciplinary powers to the officers of the Board. We do not find any discussion regarding need for delegation of disciplinary powers and no specific resolutions regarding delegation of disciplinary powers from the Member Secretary to the Director is forthcoming.
5. The learned counsel for the petitioner has also brought to our notice a decision of a co-ordinate Bench in the case of the Central Silk Board and Others Vs. R.Narayana Swamy, in W.A.No.240/2007, disposed of on 09.03.2009. Under similar circumstances, a learned Single Judge of this Court had upheld the contention that the order of dismissal was passed by an incompetent authority, i.e. the Director who is lower in rank than the Member Secretary of the Board and quashed the order of dismissal. When the matter came up before the co-ordinate Division Bench, it was observed that the learned Single Judge had not given liberty to the Central Silk Board or competent authority to reconsider the matter and proceed in accordance with law. Therefore, the appeal filed by the Central Silk Board was partly allowed while permitting the appellants therein to exercise liberty to represent before the disciplinary authority to pass appropriate orders in the matter of disciplinary proceedings, on the basis of the enquiry report, in accordance with law. The respondents, i.e. the Central Silk Board, the Member Secretary and the Director are unable to substantiate that the position has in any way differed either by producing any document or subsequent decisions.
6. In the light of the above, we proceed to pass the following:
ORDER The writ petition is partly allowed.
The impugned order dated 20.04.2015, passed by the 4th respondent-Director, Central Silk Board, order dated 15.01.2016, passed by the Appellate Authority, Chairman, Central Silk Board and the order dated 03.02.2017, passed by the Tribunal, in O.A.No.170/00331/2016, are hereby quashed and set aside.
The competent authority shall reconsider the reply dated 28.04.2014, submitted by the petitioner herein to the second show cause notice dated 04.04.2014 and proceed to pass orders in accordance with law.
The process of consideration and consequent orders shall be completed as expeditiously as possible and at any rate, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.
SD/- JUDGE SD/- JUDGE DL