Harbans Singh Rai, J. - (1.) In this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, petitioner M.C. Sharma has challenged the decision of the respondents taking away his acting rank of Captain, and his suspension order Annexure P. 8 appended to the writ petition.
(2.) He has alleged in the petition that after his commission in the Armed Forces, he served with distinction and to the entire satisfaction of his superiors. Having regard to his satisfactory record of service and experience he was promoted to the substantive rank of Captain.
(3.) It is further stated in the petition that the night of June 13/14, 1983, when the Unit was serving at .Amritsar,-, loss of one sten gun belonging to the C Company of the Regiment was reported. However, the petitioner had no concern with the loss as he was serving in a different Company. The Local Commander was directed to carry out investigation to trace out the weapon. The petitioner alleged that as he was a junior' officer, he did not have any effective control over the investigation conducted in regard to the loss of the weapon. During the course of investigation, one Sepoy Sital Singh had died and another Sepoy' Bir Singh sustained injuries. According to the petitioner, a preliminary investigation was carried, followed by a Court of Enquiry to enquire into the cause of death of Sepoy Sital Singh and also to determine the circumstances under which the sten gun had been lost.;