- (1.) I. Reliefs sought for by the petitioner 1. The petitioner, who was a Senior Assistant working in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has sought for setting aside the order issued on 24.12.2007 (Annexure P3) compulsorily retiring him in public interest w.e.f. 22.12.2007, as erroneous and amounting to double jeopardy. In a case where a departmental action issued against him had already resulted in imposition of punishment of stoppage in increments, the contention is that removal from service in public interest amounted to punishing the petitioner for the very same misconduct. The petitioner had also sought in the same writ petition a prayer for setting aside the order issued on 13.09.2002 (Annexure P1) imposing a punishment of stoppage of two annual increments with cumulative effect. The order reads that he was also kept under suspension during the pendency of a criminal case and by the time when the writ petition was filed in the year 2010, the petitioner had secured an order of acquittal and would, therefore, seek in the writ petition a relief that since the criminal case had also handed down the judgment of acquittal, the order of suspension issued alongside the order passed imposing punishment of stoppage of charges must also be revoked. The third prayer sought in the writ petition is also to set aside the orders passed on 08.09.2008 and 04.11.2008 (Annexures P4 and P5) in terms of which, the High Court through the Registrar Administration had treated the period of suspension from 16.02.2000 to 22.12.2007 when he was issued with an order of compulsory retirement to be treated as a period not spent on duty and that his pay and allowances be restricted only to subsistence allowance already paid to him during the suspension period. The order passed on 04.11.2008 (Annexure P5) is a sanction order providing for a provisional pension of Rs. 2,297/- per month till the conclusion of judicial proceedings pending against him.
(2.) During the pendency of the writ petition, an order had been issued on 24.02.2012 disposing of his plea for reconsideration of the decision taken earlier that the period of suspension shall be taken as period not spent on duty. The order issued on 24.02.2012 affirmed the decision already taken and, therefore, a subsequent writ petition has been filed in CWP No.5491 of 2012 seeking for quashing of the order dated 24.02.2012 (Annexure P10). There is a consequential direction in the writ petition to dispense all the benefits by treating the suspension period from 16.02.2000 to 22.12.2007 as duty period for all intents and purposes including the benefits, promotions, seniority, revision of pay etc. II. Factual background
(3.) It shall become necessary to briefly outline the circumstances that resulted in action being taken against the petitioner and imposition of suspension. On a petition filed before this Court by a party in a criminal case seeking for return of case property, namely, pistol, three empty and three live cartridges to be returned, the Court of Justice Chalapathi passed an order on 20.01.2000 to return the articles. It was at that time reported that the pistol and the cartridges were found missing at the Malkhana. The Judge treated the matter as serious and called for a preliminary investigation and report by 21.01.2000. The Hon'ble Chief Justice took a decision on 16.02.2000 to issue a charge sheet to the petitioner for major penalty and decided to place the petitioner under suspension. An FIR was registered on 21.01.2000 and he was arrested on 26.04.2000 and kept under remand till 29.04.2000. A chargesheet had been issued and a full-fledged enquiry was constituted and in the enquiry, it was contended by the petitioner that he took charge only on 07.05.1998, but the case property had been originally received as per entry No.1741-A, dated 04.02.1988. A Criminal Appeal No.512-DB of 1987 and 505-DB of 1987 was decided in the year 1989 and the judgment had directed the return of the case property.;