C.W.P.No.16605 of 2006 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P.No.16605 of 2006 Date of Decision : 08.04.2008 Mathura Dass Gupta .....Petitioner versus Superintending Engineer, Circle Office, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd.& ors. .....Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHINDER PAL Present : Shri Jai Vir Yadav, Advocate for the petitioner. Shri Narender Hooda, Advocate for the respondents. -.- 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? JUDGMENT HEMANT GUPTA, J. The petitioner has invoked the extra ordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court seeking directions to the respondents to reinstate the petitioner in service from the date of order of his conviction and to regularize and treat the suspension period as duty period and to grant all the consequential benefits and promotion from the date his juniors were promoted. The services of the petitioner were terminated vide order dated 20.12.1996, Annexure P-3, on account of his conviction for an offence under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. However, his conviction was set aside by this Court on 9.11.2005. The Special Leave Petition against the order of this Court has also been dismissed. C.W.P.No.16605 of 2006 2 The petitioner claims that since the services of the petitioner were terminated only on account of his conviction and the said conviction has since been set aside, therefore, the petitioner is entitled to be reinstated in service and also entitled to all the consequential benefits. Admittedly, the respondents have not considered the case of the petitioner after his acquittal from the charges levelled against him, presumably on the ground that he has attained the age of superannuation. Once the petitioner has been acquitted of the charges levelled against him, he is entitled to be reinstated in service with all consequential benefits as are admissible in law. May be due to efflux of time, he can not be physically reinstated in service for the reason that he has attained the age of superannuation, but his claim for retiral benefits after regularizing the period of termination etc., is required to be considered by the respondents. In view of the said fact, we dispose of the present writ petition with direction to the respondents to pass appropriate order on the representations of the petitioner, Annexures P-5 to P-7, seeking reinstatement and consequential benefits, within a period of 3 months from today, in accordance with law. It shall be open to the respondents to take disciplinary action, if any permissible, in accordance with law as well. The writ petition stands disposed of accordingly. (HEMANT GUPTA) JUDGE 08-04-2008 (MOHINDER PAL) *mohinder JUDGE