Guide to departmental promotions enquiries, punishments and appeals

It is unfortunate that some of the Enquiry Officers, Disciplinary and Appellate Authorities are ignorant of procedural obligations and principles of natural justice and therefore pass void orders which cause great harassment and misery to the Government servants and their families.
A Forester was suspended in the year 1950 by the D.F.O. and was dismissed from service without proper enquiry in the year 1951 by the Conservator of Forests which order was modi fied by the State Government to be one of discharge. The matter went upto Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in the year 1969 set aside the order and remitted the case to the Conservator of Forests for fresh decision in accordance with law. Forester was reinstated in service in 1970 but he was again put under suspension with retrospective effect by the D.F.O. The Disciplinary Authority asked for show cause and order of discharge was passed. The Forester preferred an appeal but the same was dismissed. High Court held that the enquiry was not according to Rules and retrospective suspension was bad. Since thirty-two years had passed in the meanwhile the High Court instead of remitting back the case to the Disciplinary Authority to be decided again set aside the impug ned punishment and the retrospective suspension. It was fur ther held that the Forester is to be deemed to be in service and he is entitled to the consequential benefits. (Narayana Misra v. State of Orissa, 1982 (2) SLR 506: 1983 Lab IC 294). The Forester suffered for thirty-two years fighting for his bread before the various Administrative Officers and the Courts and the Government has been put to considerable loss as it will have to pay the emoluments for all this period with consequential benefits to the Forester for the flaws made by the D.F.O. and the Conservator of Forests.