9911796707
TMI Blog2003 (9) TMI 828X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hich according to the Corporation amounted to a misconduct under By-Law 18 of The Punjab Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. Service By Laws. In the inquiry that was held pursuant to the above said charge, the appellant was found guilty of the said misconduct and the disciplinary authority as per his order dated 6th November, 2001 while confirming the finding of the Inquiry Officer found the case to be a fit one in which a punishment of dismissal was called for and accordingly he ordered the dismissal of the appellant from the service of the Corporation with immediate effect. The appellant challenged to the said order by way of a writ petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court which came to be dismissed by the impugned order, hence, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y, however, if the punishment imposed by the disciplinary authority or the appellate authority shocks the conscience of the court, then the court would appropriately mould the relief either by directing the disciplinary/appropriate authority to reconsider the penalty imposed or to shorten the litigation its may make an exception in rare cases and impose appropriate punishment with cogent reasons in support thereof. It is also clear from the above noted judgments of this Court, if the punishment imposed by the disciplinary authority is totally disproportionate to the misconduct proved against the delinquent officer, then the court would interfere in such a case. 7. Applying the said principles laid down by this Court in the cases noted herei ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rwise, we are of the opinion that when the Service By-Laws applicable to the Corporation under Service By-Laws 17 provide various minor punishments, we fail to appreciate why only maximum punishment available under the said By-laws should be awarded on the facts of the present case. We think the punishment of dismissal for mere misplacement of a file without any ulterior motive is too harsh a punishment which is totally disproportionate to the misconduct alleged and the same certainly shocks our judicial conscience. Hence, having considered the basis on which the punishment of dismissal was imposed on the appellant and the facts and circumstances of this case, we think to avoid further prolonged litigation it would be appropriate if we modi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
