Regular Second Appeal No.3572 of 1986 : 1 : IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: May 03, 2010 Sarup Singh through L.Rs. ...Appellant. VERSUS Punjab State & another ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RANJIT SINGH 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Present: Mr.R.S.Ahluwalia, Advocate, for the appellant. Ms.Ambika Luthra, AAG, Punjab, for the State. ***** RANJIT SINGH, J. Sarup Singh working as a Conductor in Punjab Roadways, Batala had filed this Regular Second Appeal against the judgment passed by the first Appellate Court. During the pendency of appeal, he has expired on 7.1.2002. Having been appointed as Conductor in the year 1969, Regular Second Appeal No.3572 of 1986 : 2 : the late appellant continued to serve till 19.7.1984 when General Manager, Punjab Roadways, Batala passed an order dismissing the appellant from service. Late appellant filed a suit challenging the order on different grounds. Departmental appeal was also filed against the said order, which, as per the appellant was arbitrarily dismissed. It is thereafter that he had filed this suit. The trial Court held the order removing the appellant from service to be illegal. The suit was accordingly decreed. The first Appellate Court modified this decree by declaring the order dated 11.3.1985 passed by the Divisional Manager, Transport Department, Jalandhar to be illegal, null and void and against the principles of natural justice. Direction, therefore, was issued to the Appellate Authority to pass the order afresh. While modifying the order of the Trial Court, the Appellate Court directed that the appellant be reinstated into service. The operation of the judgment passed by the first Appellate Court was stayed when the present appeal was admitted. There was hardly any need to remit the case back to the departmental appellate authority when the part of the order passed by the Trial court was allowed to stand. In view of the stay granted, the departmental appeal obviously has not been decided. In the meanwhile, the appellant was relieved and has died. Since the appellant is no more, the counsel for the appellant was given time to have instructions as to the latest position about his retiral benefits. Counsel submits that the entire retiral benefits have been released to the wife of the late appellant after his death and she is now in receipt of the family pension. Regular Second Appeal No.3572 of 1986 : 3 : The question requiring consideration would be whether in the present situation, there is a need to interfere in the view taken by the first Appellate Court. Once it was found that the Departmental Appellate Authority had taken into consideration the material, which could not have been so considered, the order was rightly found to be bad in law. The question was whether the liberty could have been given to the Appellate Authority to pass a fresh order or not. The Appellate Court was not justified in modifying the judgment passed by the Trial Court. Once the appellate authority was found to have considered the material, which was not relevant, order could not have been sustained. Having found so, the court could not have justifiably given an opportunity to the department to make amends more so when the order of termination had already been set-aside by the Trial Court. The substantive question of law would arise in this case to the effect that Appellate Court was not fair and justified in remitting the case back to the department to decide the appeal filed by the appellant once the order was suffering from legal infirmity and when the appellate Court has sustained the order setting-aside the dismissal order. The Regular Second Appeal is allowed. The order passed by the first Appellate Court modifying the decree passed by the Trial Court is set-aside. The order passed by the Trial Court shall stand restored. Fresh decree be accordingly prepared by the Registry of this Court. May 03, 2010 ( RANJIT SINGH ) ramesh JUDGE