State Of Meghalaya & Ors vs Mecken Sing N. Marak

3. The relevant facts emerging from the record of the case are as under. In the year 1967 the respondent was appointed as police constable by the Home Department, Government of Meghalaya. During the course of time he was promoted to the post of Sub-Inspector of police and posted as Armed Branch Sub-Inspector, 2nd Meghalaya Police Battalion at Goeragre. On May 5, 1995 he was directed to go to Shillong along with BNC Clyforth Sangma to disburse the pay for the month of April 1995 to the Bn personnel posted at Shillong. One 0.38 bore revolver bearing Number 787735 and 12 rounds of 0.38 ammunition were also issued to him for the purpose. He was specifically instructed to proceed to Shillong in a vehicle belonging to the department with other police personnel who were going to Shillong on platoon transfer with their arms and ammunition. The respondent was further 3 instructed to come back to Goeragre from Shillong in the same vehicle after the disbursement of pay etc. with other personnel who were to come back to Goeragre with their arms and ammunition. The respondent, in the company of Clyforth Sangma left Bn Headquarters in the morning of May 5, 1995 by Unit's vehicle No.ML-02 1038 at about 8.30 AM and arrived at Shillong at about 8.00 PM. On arrival at Shillong, the respondent began to disburse the pay. He also spent the whole next day in disbursing the rest of the pay. An amount of Rs.17,314/- could not be disbursed by him and he was supposed to deposit the same with the competent authority at the Headquarters. The respondent permitted Clyforth Sangma to visit his wife who was not feeling well and, therefore, in the morning of May 7, 1995 Clyforth Sangma left for his village Rajasimla and returned back to Bn Headquarters on May 9, 1995.

4. The respondent disobeyed the instructions given to him to come back to Bn Headquarters in the vehicle in which he had gone to Shillong. Instead he met and instructed BNC 4 737 Emmanual Jalong to prepare to leave for Bn Headquarters by night bus. On May 7, 1995 in the evening at about 4.30 p.m. he left the camp for the M.T.C. Bus Station. At the bus station he did not see the constables who were supposed to travel with him. Presuming that they must have proceeded in another bus, the respondent boarded the MTC bus No.ML-03-0099 bound for Tura. He was seated in Seat No.22. There was a passenger in the seat next to him on Seat No.21. At Jorabat the bus stopped where the respondent took dinner. After the bus resumed its onward journey for Tura, his co-passenger in Seat No.21 started chatting with him. The co-passenger took out a packet of biscuit and offered biscuits to the respondent. The respondent accepted the biscuits and after eating the biscuit he dosed off. When he woke up, the bus had reached somewhere near Anogri. He made enquiry about his belongings and found that his revolver with ammunition and pouch containing an amount of Rs.17,314/-, which was undisbursed pay were missing. He also realized that his co-passenger in seat No.21 was not around. 5

6. On receipt of the information from the appellant, Respondent No.3 who is the Commandant of the Battalion forwarded his report on May 8, 1995 to Tura Police Station for registering a case and accordingly a case was registered at Tura Police Station under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. On May 12, 1995, the respondent was suspended from service pending enquiry for loss of Rs.17,314/- and service 6 revolver with ammunition. A preliminary enquiry was held with regard to the matter and thereafter the competent authority decided to take steps to initiate a regular departmental enquiry against the respondent. Accordingly, the respondent was served with statement of charges and called upon to offer his explanation. He offered his explanation which was not found to be satisfactory by the competent authority. The competent authority thereafter appointed Inquiry Officer to conduct departmental inquiry against the appellant.

7. During the course of departmental enquiry several witnesses were examined in respect of the charges leveled against the respondent. The respondent had also examined his witnesses. At the conclusion of the departmental enquiry the enquiry officer submitted report to the competent authority stating that the charges framed against the respondent were duly proved. On careful consideration of the report as well as records, the competent authority tentatively agreed with the findings of the enquiry officer. The competent 7 authority forwarded a copy of the report of the enquiry officer to the respondent along with letter dated September 18, 1995, and called upon him to show cause as to why he should not be discharged from serviced. On receipt of the show cause notice, the respondent submitted his explanation. The competent authority by an order dated January 1, 1996, removed the respondent from service. Feeling aggrieved, the respondent preferred an appeal before the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Western Range, Tura as provided by Rule 66 of the Assam Police Manual - Part III. The Inspector General of Police (Training) dismissed the appeal by an order dated May 13, 1996. Thereupon the respondent invoked extra ordinary jurisdiction of the High court under Article 226 of the Constitution by filing Civil Rule No.4048 of 1996. The learned Single Judge of the Gauhati High Court dismissed the petition by order dated October 5, 2002. Aggrieved by the judgment delivered by the learned Single Judge, the respondent preferred an appeal before the Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court. The Division Bench upheld the finding recorded by the learned Single Judge that misconduct by the 8 respondent was satisfactorily proved. However, the Division Bench was of the view that the version of the respondent that he had to travel by Meghalaya State Road Transport Corporation night bus and lost his consciousness after taking sweets offered by co-passenger was a mitigating circumstance and, therefore, the punishment of removal from service imposed on him was not commensurate with the gravity of the proven misconduct. In view of the said conclusion the Division Bench has set aside the order removing the respondent from service and remitted the matter to the appellate authority, namely, the Inspector General of Police to consider and inflict appropriate punishment, short of removal from service, commensurate with the gravity of the proven misconduct of the respondent, by the impugned judgment, giving rise to the instant appeal.

226. Judged in this background, the conclusion of the Division Bench of the High Court cannot be regarded as proper at all. The High Court has interfered with the punishment imposed by the competent authority in a casual manner and, therefore, the appeal will have to be accepted.

10. For the foregoing reasons the appeal succeeds. The Judgment rendered by the Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court dated March 7, 2006 delivered in Writ appeal No.282 of 14 2006 setting aside the order removing the respondent from service is quashed. The direction given by the Division Bench to the appellate authority, namely, the Inspector General of Police to consider and inflict punishment, short of removal from service, commensurate with the gravity of the proven misconduct of the respondent is set aside. The order passed by the competent authority removing the respondent from service is restored. The appeal is accordingly allowed. There shall be no order as to costs.

MAY 09, 2008.