- (1.) Heard Mr. Sunil Kumar Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. P.K. Khare, learned counsel for the respondents.
(2.) The petitioner has challenged the order dated 2 May 2006 passed by the disciplinary authority, where by the petitioner was awarded the penalty of reduction of pay scale to the minimum of scale in a time-scale of pay applicable to his cadre in terms of Regulations 39(1)(d) of L.I.C. of India (Staff), Regulations, 1960 as well as the order dated 18 January 2007 passed by the appellate authority upholding the order of punishment as also the order dated 6 February 2009, whereby the petitioner's Memorial dated 18 February 2007 was rejected.
(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the inquiry conducted against the petitioner was vitiated in law as no relevant original documents were made available to him, more so the original records mentioned in the charge sheet were not provided to hand-writing expert for verification of signatures. The original records with regard to charges were lying with PW1 Sri Surya Prakash Gupta, who never turned up to record his statement before the Inquiry Office nor did he produce the original record. Thus the petitioner has been punished on the basis of secondary evidence.;