CIVIL WRIT JURISDICTION CASE No.10404 OF 1996 In the matter of an application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. ----- Ramadhar Singh son of late Tipan Singh, resident of village and P.O. Sakaddi, P S – Koilwar, District – Bhojpur. Versus 1. State of Bihar through the Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar, Old Secretariat, Patna. 2. Director General cum Inspector General of Police, Bihar, Old Secretariat, Patna. 3. Commandant, BMP – 14, Patna. 4. D.I.G. of Police, BMP, Central Zone, Patna. ------ For the petitioner : Mr. Ram Hirday Prasad. For the State : None. ----- P R E S E N T THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAY KUMAR TRIPATHI ----- Ajay Kumar Tripathi,J. From the list of charges which came to be drawn up against the petitioner and the evidence which came during the course of enquiry, the issue primarily related to the conduct of the petitioner amounting to financial misconduct of various kinds. In the garb of repair of vehicles, when he was the Transport Officer, all kinds of financial irregularities were committed, details of which were available in Annexure-1. 2. Enquiry Officer did find the charges to be true. The findings being what they are, the Commandant who happened to be the disciplinary authority imposed punishment of stoppage of increment for six months. This order is Annexure-6. In appeal, however, the appellate authority came to a considered opinion that the misdemeanour of the 2 petitioner deserves a more serious punishment since stoppage of increment for six months was too light a punishment commensurate with the charges. Punishment of reversion for a period of one year came to be passed from the post of S.I. to that of Hawildar. 3. The usual submission with regard to the conduct of the enquiry has been raised or submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that he did not get adequate opportunity to defend himself. Proper witnesses were not called and examined and that he did not get chance of cross-examination. 4. These are submissions which are more made than made out because even as per some of the documents annexed by the petitioner, witnesses were examined and petitioner refused to cross- examine them as is evident from the evidence of various witnesses. The explanations being offered by him are not convincing enough. 5. There is sufficiency of evidence and a very detailed enquiry was conducted against the petitioner, reading of which convinces this Court that the petitioner was guilty of the misconduct and punishment orders have come to be passed based on such findings. The charges were serious and withholding of increment was rightly interfered with by the superior authority and punishment enhanced. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioner thereafter submits that in terms of the provisions of Rule 853-A of the Police Manual, three years time is a long time for the appellate authority to enhance the order of punishment. The provision of the said rule lays down that there should be reasonable time frame in case enhancement is 3 contemplated and an order passed. 7. There is no time frame as such indicated in such a provision. Reasonable time frame can vary from facts to facts. It will be dependent upon the preponderances of evidence and material which had come during enquiry and the totality of the issues based on which the enhancement order was required to be passed. 8. With the materials and the evidence being what they are, it had to be meticulously examined by the appellate authority because enhancement of punishment cannot be treated in a routine manner and it is bound to take some time in this regard. With no statutory time having been fixed for a decision of the kind under Rule 853-A, delay of three years in passing of the enhancement order cannot be said to have been fallen foul of any law much less the said provision. 9. In fact, the petitioner has walked away rather rightly in the background under which the order came to be passed. 10. The writ application has no merit. It is dismissed. ( Ajay Kumar Tripathi, J.) Patna High Court: The 16th November, 2010. R K Pathak (NAFR)