THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO WP No. 7789 of 2011 ORDER: The impugned order is issued by the Depot Manager, APSRTC, Adoni and he craftily styled it as show-cause notice-cum-order. Obvioulsy the Depot Manager, is aware of the legal principle that before an order of punishment is passed by him, he is required to put the party who is likely to be impacted by such an order on notice. Therefore, he draws a show-cause notice. However, the penultimate paragraph of the impugned order discloses the determinative nature of his mind and leaves none in doubt that the punishment of stoppage of two annual grade increments which will have bearing upon his next increment has already been imposed. It is fundamental that a show-cause notice should not be containing a final decision already arrived at. If such a decision is conveyed, it amounts to deciding the issue first and then putting the party on notice later on. In other words, it amounts to putting the cart before the horse. For this reason alone, the impugned order is set aside. Instead of remanding the matter back, Sri S.M.Subhan, learned counsel for the petitioner has come up with a very smart suggestion. He suggests that if the cumulative part is deleted from the impugned order, perhaps the ends of justice would have met with adequately. In normal circumstances, I would not have accepted this suggestion and would have preferred to remand the matter back for fresh consideration. But, howver, Sri Subhan is right in submitting that an old injury which is trying to heal up should not be reopened for further treatment. Therefore, the punishment of stoppage of two increments for two years without cumulative effect for the proven misconduct against the petitioner is directed to be imposed by the Depot Manager, Adoni. Hence, only two increments be withheld for two years. If the Depot Manager has already withheld his two annual grade increments, on a permanent basis, he is directed to release the so withheld increments without postponing them or without having their impact on future increments. With this the writ petition is disposed of. However, these kind of irregular orders of drawing show-cause notice-cum-final orders passed by the Depot Managers consistently and persistently, it must be impressed on all the disciplinary authorities that any such order drawn henceforth will render the disciplinary authority himself liable to be proceeded against as a measure of punishment. The writ petition stands disposed of right at the admission stage as Smt.W.V.S.Rajeswari, learned Standing Counsel was fairly in agreement with the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the same in somewhat similar circumstances has been decided in favour of the petitioner in a judgment reported in 2005(6) ALD 247. --------------------------------- Nooty Ramamohana Rao, J Knk Dt : 25.3.2011