- (1.) PARITOSH K. Mukherjee, J. Bastt Ram, the petitioner instituted the present writ petition in 1984. He was 48 years old at that point of time. We are now in 1996, and thus, tha petitioner must have attained the age of superannuation by now. According to law, the writ petition ought to have been amended.
(2.) SRI T. P. Singh learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the amendment, at this stage, will further delay the proceeding. He drew our attention to the following prayer made in the petition ; "issue writ, order or direction in the interest of the petitioner which this Hon'ble court may deem fit and proper. " and submitted that the writ petition be heard and disposed of, on merits, as otherwise, the matter will further linger on. Sri Sumit Kumar, who appeared for Union of India, did not raise any objection to the aforesaid submission. Accordingly, without going into hyper, technicality of the matter we are of the view that it would be in the fitness of things as well as, interest of justice that the writ petition be disposed of, on merits, treating the petitioner to have attained the age of superannuation.
(3.) ACCORDING to the case of the petitioner, at the relevant point of time, the petitioner was posted as Subedar Technical Vehicle 614, Electrical Engineering Battalion 56, Army Post Office, Dehradun. He was Junior Commissioned Officer- Incharge of the workshop, i One Captain Swami Nathan Vijayan was charged under Sec tion 66 of the Army Act for abetment as on his direction, the cylinder heads of the vehicles were removed. They were sold out and in their place, two unserviceable cylinders-head were brought from the shop of one M/s. Edison Sales Corporation, Dehradun and substituted. This mischief was done by one Sri CHM Sahu.;