1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 435 OF 2004 DIST.: MUMBAI Union of India through General Manager, Western Railway, & Ors. ...Petitioners Versus P.K. Roy ...Respondent. Mr. Suresh Kumar for the Petitioners The Respondent is served. CORAM: B ILAL NAZKI and J.H. BHATIA, JJ. DATE: SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 P.C.:- Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners. Nobody appears for the respondent. 2. This Writ Petition has been filed against an order passed by 2 the Central Administrative Tribunal on 16th January, 2003. It appears that petitioner No. 3 had imposed on the respondent the penalty of reduction to lower grade of Rs.5500-9000 by one stage on pay of Rs.8125/- per month for three years with future impact, by order dated 7th February, 2001. This was upheld by the Appellate Authority and modified by the Revisional Authority by order dated 4th January, 2002 by a reduction to the lower grade by one stage on pay of Rs.8125/- for one year without future impact. 3. The charge against the respondent was that he had carried out vigilance investigation in a slipshod and haphazard manner, without verifying the facts, as a result of which a retired Executive Engineer had to be charge-sheeted and had to face an inquiry for no mistake of his, and an officer, who had actually committed misconduct, was allowed to go scot free. 4. Nowhere the Department maintained that the respondent had reached his conclusions in the inquiry for mala fide reasons. On the basis of material on record, the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the 3 respondent had failed to cross-check the authenticity of the signature in the Measurement book, and, therefore, a mistake had crept in, and, at best, it was an error of judgment. We do not find any reason to interfere with the order of the Tribunal, as it has set aside the order punishing the respondent. 5. For these reasons, the petition is dismissed and the Rule discharged. BILAL NAZKI, J. J.H. BHATIA, J.