GYAN CHAND CHATTAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with articles 14 and 16 thereof the petitioner who is a railway servant working in the Western Railway belonging to the Union of India respondent No. 1 herein challenges the appellate order passed in departmental proceedings by the financial Adviser and Chief Accounts officer Western Railway Churchgate Bombay respondent No. 4 herein whereby the respondent has converted penalty of removal from service inflicted on the petitioner to one reversion to the lower post of clerk Grade II in the scale of Rs. 260-440(1) until he is found fit by the competent authority for being considered for the higher post in the scale of Rs. 330-560 (R).

(2.) In order to appreciate the grievance of the petitions it is necessary to glance through a few relevant facts leading to this petition. The petitioner was appointed in the Western Railway as Shroff in the department of pay and cash in the scale of Rs. 260-400 with effect from 8-2-1971 by the Chief Cashier Western Railway. The petitioner thereafter passed the departmental examination and was promoted to the post of cashier in the scale of Rs. 330-480 by the Chief Cashier in the year 1977. The petition went on working as a cashier thereafter all throughout till the time he was involved in an incident which took place on Chandlodia railway station situated on the railway line between Sabarmati and Viramgam. That resulted in the departmental proceedings which ultimately culminated into the impugned order of reversion of the petitioner.

(3.) The petitioner was working as a cashier at Baroda on 23-11-1979. On that day he was asked to work vice Mr. U. C. Verma who was disbursing cashier and who was working on Baroda Viramgam line at the relevant time. As Mr. Verma reported sick the work for disbursing payment to railway employees on scheduled dates at Viramgam and other places came to be entrusted to the petitioner. Accordingly the petitioner proceeded to Viramgam on 24-11-1979 by 47 down which I am told leaves Baroda in the early morning and reaches Viramgam in the afternoon. The said train which is a passenger train is popularly known as Viramgam passenger. The aforesaid passenger train on its Journey to Viramgam has to pass through Ahmedabad Sabarmati and its next halt is at Chandlodia station which is located on the railway line between Sabarmati and Viramgam. The case of the petitioner is that when the aforesaid passenger train in which was travelling on 24 1979 stopped at Ahmedabad one Mr. G. K. Mishra Assistant Station Master Chandlodia station contacted the petitioner and asked him to make payment of arrears bills pertaining to 24 employees of Chandlodia station. These arrears bills pertained to arrears are under the Award of the Railway Tribunal. The concerned arrears bills were totalling Rs. 34049-55. The petitioner was quite new to that section. According to the petitioner as per the rules laid down by the railway administ ration any payment amounting to more than Rs. 500/ per recipient had to be made in presence of a gazetted officer. Further the train was to stop at Chandlodia station for only two minutes and there was no sufficient time available for the petitioner to make disbursement to all the members of the Chandlodia station staff during that short time. Further no gazetted officer was available to witness payment. Under these circumstances according to the petitioner he informed Mr. Mishra Assistant Master Chandlodia that he would make payment of arrears of the Railway Tribunal award to the concerned members of Chandlodia station staff on his return journey from Viramgam on 27 when the petitioner would be able to arrange for presence of some gazetted officer at Chandlodia station. Thus the petitioner requested Mr. Mishra to permit him to postpone payment of arrears to Chandlodia railway staff and in the meantime the petitioner was to make payment of regular salary to staff members at other stations falling on the line as per the scheduled programme fixed earlier. The petitioners case is that as per the railway rules if the gazetted officer is not available an alternative is provided. As per that alternative pre-intimation to each individual employee quoting the amount of pay ment by way of a written authority from the superior officer at the station is required. According to the petitioner even on 27 1979 no gazetted officer was available at Chandlodia station but the alter native course was followed as the Divisional Paymaster had intimated previously to all employees about the actual amounts to be paid to them and had sent an inspector to witness the payment. Under these circumstances the petitioner made payment to all the employees at Chandlodia railway station on 27-11-1979 in accordance with the railway rules. The case of the petitioner further is that the aforesaid course adopted by the petitioner enraged. Mr. Mishra who with a view to harassing the petitioner collected group of his men at Chandlodia station and at their instance detained the Viramgam passenger on 24 11-1979 first by prohibiting the Assistant Station master from giving the signal and thereby instigating certain class IV employees to squat in front of the engine of Viramgam passenger train 47 down in which the petitioner was proceeding on duty as paying cashier to Viramgam. It is the further case of the petitioner that he was summo ned on control phone at Chandlodia by certain officers of the railway and he thereupon apprised the officer on phone about his stand on the situation and convinced him. The petitioner was again summoned by some other officers of the railway including senior divisional accounts officer but according to him the message of senior divisional accounts officer was not communicated to him by the station staff Chandlodia with the result that the petitioner could not contact him and other railway officers. The petitioners case further is that the persons who were agitating and squatting in front of the engine ultimately realised mistake and withdrew from the railway track and it is thereafter that Viramgam passenger was permitted to resume it onward journey to Viramgam. However in the process the train got detained at Chand- lodia for quite some time. Ultimately it arrived at Viramgam on 24 late in the afternoon. Thereafter the petitioner arranged for payment of salary to the railway staff members at Viramgam. On that very day the petitioner sent a telegram to the appropriate autho- rities at Baroda for arranging presence of a gazetted officer at Chandlodia railway station so that the petitioner could arrange for payment of arrears Award dues to the railway employees at Chandlodia on 27-11-1979 as required under the relevant rules and procedure. On 25 the petitioner arranged payment of regular salary to the staff between Ambli road and Viramgam as per his schedule. On 27 the petitioner also arranged payment to the staff of Kharaghoda station. Then on 27-11-1979 the petitioner arranged payment of arrears bills to the railway staff at Chandlodia on his return journey to Baroda by 42 up which is a passenger train which leaves Viram in the afternoon and reaches Baroda at night and is popularly known as Baroda passenger on its return journey.