D.B. SPECIAL APPEAL (WRIT) NO.742/2008 Kishan Lal Verma Vs. The State of Rajasthan & Ors. Date of Judgment :: May 01, 2008. HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.NARAYAN ROY HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHAMMAD RAFIQ Mr. Rajeev Sogarwal for the appellant. *** This appeal has been preferred against the judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 15.5.2007 passed in S.B. Civil Writ Petition no.5783/2005 whereby the writ petition of the appellant was dismissed. In the writ petition, the appellant had challenged the order of penalty of stoppage of one grade increment without cumulative effect dated 14.3.1997 passed against him in the disciplinary proceedings and the order dated 24.12.1997 vide which his appeal against the penalty order was also dismissed by the Government. Learned counsel for the appellant has argued that since the complainant, Smt. Mohini Devi has not supported the allegations in the complaint and even denied making any such complaint before the Inquiry Officer, the disciplinary authority could not impose the penalty of stoppage of one grade increment without cumulative effect. He further argued that the appellate authority has also erred in law in dismissing the appeal even though this lacuna in the disciplinary proceedings was pointed out. Having heard the learned counsel for the appellant and perused the materials forming part of the record, we find that though the complainant, Smt. Mohini Devi denied having made the complaint, but the other witnesses namely, Sita Ram Verma Prehri, Doliram Prehri and Superintendent, Smt. Rajendra Kumari have sufficiently supported the charges against the appellant. On the basis of their evidence, the disciplinary authority has imposed penalty aforesaid. -2- In view of the nature of allegations against the appellant that he tried to ravish Smt.Mohini Devi, a widow working as gardener with the respondents, if the complainant would have supported such allegations, we are inclined to think that the appellant would have suffered much graver penalty. The disciplinary authority has already taken a lenient view by merely awarding him the penalty of stoppage of one grade increment and that too, without cumulative effect, and the appellate authority as also the learned Single Judge have upheld the same. In our view, none of the authorities have committed any error of law in imposing the penalty aforesaid so as to warrant interference by this Court and the learned Single Judge was, therefore, justified in dismissing the writ petition. This appeal is accordingly dismissed. (MOHAMMAD RAFIQ),J. (NARAYAN ROY),CJ. skant/-