D.B. CIVIL SPECIAL APPEAL (WRIT) NO.679/2008 Asif Ali Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. Date of Order :: March 31, 2008. HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.NARAYAN ROY HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHAMMAD RAFIQ Mr. M.F. Baig for the appellant. *** This special appeal has been filed against the judgment dated 19.9.2007 by which the writ petition of the appellant filed against the order of penalty of censure dated 28.11.1990 was dismissed. Learned counsel for the appellant has argued that the appellant was not communicated the order of censure, and therefore, the appeal, that was filed by him before the appellate authority, was filed with the delay of six months. The appellate authority had dismissed the appeal as time barred and did not consider the matter on merits. It was further argued that order of penalty of censure had the effect of delaying the grant of selection scale to him by one year. Learned Single Judge ought to have remanded the matter to the appellate authority for consideration on merits instead of adjudging the validity of the order of penalty. We have heard the learned counsel for the appellant and perused the impugned order. -2- On bare perusal of the impugned notice dated 1.6.1990 served upon the appellant and the reply submitted thereto dated 2.7.1990, we find that the appellant, in reply to the said notice, did not specifically deny the fact that he was entrusted with muster rolls, receipt books, keys of the office etc. and he admitted having dropped them while coming from Phalodi to Sawai Madhopur on his motorcycle. The disciplinary authority, as it is, has taken a lenient view by imposing penalty of censure upon the petitioner. In the facts of the case, the imposition of such minor penalty cannot be said to be without any foundation. The learned Single Judge, in our view, was therefore correct in dismissing the writ petition on evaluation of the matter on merits. We thus do not find any merit in this appeal which is accordingly dismissed. (MOHAMMAD RAFIQ),J. (NARAYAN ROY),CJ. Skant/-