DURGESH KUMAR AGRAWAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition, the petitioner is assailing the order of the disciplinary authority dated 21.08.2013 imposing major penalty of dismissal from service and also the order of the appellate authority dated 21.04.2014 for modifying the quantum of punishment by reducing from "dismissal from service" to "removal from service".

(2.) Heard Mr. N Kaushik, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. AK Bhattacharya, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. N Mozika, learned counsel for the respondents 2 & 3.

(3.) The fact sufficient for deciding the core questions call for decision in the present writ petition is briefly noted. The petitioner has been a university topper of MBA specialized in Marketing and Ph.D. in the area of cross discipline of Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Strategy and Information Technology from ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior. After working in the Indian Automobile Industry for 5 (five) years during 1986-91, he has been teaching for last 22 years at PG level Management education. In response to an advertisement of the respondent-institute, the petitioner applied against the post of Professor with the respondent-institute. The petitioner was selected by the respondent-institute for the post of Associate Professor and as such, he resigned from his previous employer i.e. FORE School of Management, Delhi. After joining with the respondent-institute, the recommendations were submitted by the 6th Pay Commission to the Central Govt. which were accepted by the Central Govt. in the year 2009 with the condition that the said recommendation shall be applicable w.e.f. 01.01.2006. After the recommendation of the 6th Pay Commission was implemented at the respondent-institute, the petitioner applied for rectification in his pay fixation made earlier in view of the revision of pay scale as per 6th Pay Commission recommendation by filing an application dated 31.01.2011 to the Director, RGIIM, Shillong (respondent-institute). The said application dated 31.01.2011 was annexed with the original copy of pay fixation letter of FORE School of Management, Delhi (previous employer of the petitioner). It is the clear case of the petitioner that he had enclosed pay fixation letter issued by the previous employer i.e. FORE School of Management, Delhi along with the said application in original and also that no photo copy of the said pay fixation letter was taken and retained by the petitioner before its submission, as he did not contemplate any such requirement at that point of time. The petitioner in the said application clearly stated that the revised pay as per the 6th Pay Commission was fixed by the previous employer for him as on July, 2007 and the petitioner had submitted the said application dated 31.01.2011 directly to the Director, RGIIM, Shillong (respondent-institute) and the said application was marked by the Director to be put up to the pay fixation committee on the same day i.e. 31.01.2011 and was forwarded to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the respondent-institute. As no action whatsoever had been taken on the said application of the petitioner dated 31.01.2011, the petitioner sent a reminder to his application for necessary rectification in the pay fixation in the line with other settled cases by filing a reminder application dated 27.07.2011. In that reminder, the petitioner enclosed a copy of the said earlier application dated 31.01.2011 without enclosure i.e. pay fixation letter issued by his previous employer dated 12.01.2011. On receipt of the reminder from the petitioner, the pay fixation committee was reconstituted replacing Prof. D.K. Agrawal by Prof. Keya Sengupta on 28.07.2011 to look into the case of the fixation of pay of the petitioner. After one and half month, once again the pay fixation committee was reconstituted replacing Prof. Keya Sengupta by Shri. R.C. Saxena, CAO, RGIIM, Shillong to look into the case of pay fixation of the petitioner. Meeting of the pay fixation committee was held on 26.09.2011 and in that meeting, it was recorded "as there is a difference in opinion, it was decided that matter may be finally decided by the appointing authority". But as a matter of fact, Shri. M Debnath, Finance Officer of the respondent-institute (invitee) and other members did not have any difference of opinion as per the proceedings of the meeting dated 26.09.2011.