- (1.) Delay condoned. Leave granted.
(2.) Heard counsel for the parties. Respondent I, while was working as Senior Inspector, District Supply Office, Lucknow, his services were terminated by proceedings dated 14/7/1965 : "The services of Shri Prakash Chandra Saxena, Senior Inspector, District Supply Office, Lucknow are terminated with effect from the date of service upon him of this order. He shall be paid one month's pay in lieu of notice. "the said proceedings were challenged by Respondent 1 in the year 1978 by filing a claim petition before the Service tribunal which was initially rejected by the tribunal on the ground of delay. But the High court remitted the matter for decision on merits and the tribunal held that the order of termination had been made by way of punishment without enquiry and hence violated Article 311 (2 of the Constitution. When it was challenged in Writ Petition No. 2016 of 1991 filed by the appellant, the High court dismissed it by its order dated 5/3/1993, following the decision of this court in Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab wherein it had been held that the court had to lift the veil and find whether the ground of termination was the foundation or the motive and if it was found to be the foundation, the termination simpliciter would be illegal. It was pointed out that the enquiry initiated, when was stopped midway it would show that the enquiry into misconduct of Respondent 1 was abandoned while enquiry into the alleged misconduct had to be completed without which the termination would become illegal. The High court was of the opinion that the ratio in Samsher Singh was, obviously, not brought to the notice of this court, while deciding State of U. P. v. Kaushal Kishore Shakla and Triveni Shanker Saxena v. State of U. P. and hence they had been decided per incuriam. The High court, therefore, applied the ratio of the decision in Samsher Singh which according to it squarely applied to Respondent 1 and held that the termination of the services of the respondent was violative of Article 311 (2 of the Constitution.
(3.) In our view, the High court was not right in its approach in upholding the order of the tribunal. What is overlooked by the High court is that Samsher Singh case related to a judicial officer who had the protection of Article 355 of the Constitution and that, any enquiry conducted by the Executive, into an alleged misconduct of such judicial officer would be perse illegal and without jurisdiction. In that factual matrix, this court had to hold that an enquiry having been initiated against the delinquent, had got to be pursued to its logical conclusion, that is, till it ended either in imposition of penalty on proof of misconduct or having been found not guilty of the charge. That was the background in which this court laid the law. The High court has totally misunderstood the applicability of the judgment in Samsher Singh court has, indeed considered in catena of decisions, the nature of power of the government exercisable in dismissal of a temporary government servant, in terms of the order of appointment or the rules entitled U. P. Temporary government Servants (Termination of Service) Rules, 1975. Kaushalkishore and Triveni Shanker Saxena are two decisions of this court where on consideration of the scope of the said rules, it is held that the termination simpliciter is not a penalty and the government has power and jurisdiction under the contract of employment or the Rules to terminate simpliciter the services of a temporary government servant without conducting an enquiry and such termination simpliciter does not amount to termination for misconduct. The decisions in the said cases are being followed by this court consistently.;