Shri Anant R. Kulkarni vs. Y.P. Education Society & Ors, Civil Appeal No. 3935
of 2013 (Decided on 26.04.2013)
The
Court examined following question:
“In
case the punishment is set aside by the Court/Tribunal as the enquiry stood
vitiated for technical reasons, whether the employer is entitled to hold the
enquiry afresh from the point it stood vitiated?
The
Court held:
“It is a settled legal proposition that, once
the Court set asides an order of punishment on the ground, that the enquiry was
not properly conducted, the Court should not severely preclude the employer
from holding the inquiry in accordance with law. It must remit the concerned
case to the disciplinary authority, to conduct the enquiry from the point that
it stood vitiated, and to conclude the same in accordance with law. However,
resorting to such a course depends upon the gravity of delinquency involved.
Thus, the court must examine the magnitude of misconduct alleged against the
delinquent employee. It is in view of this, that courts/tribunals, are not competent
to quash the charge-sheet and related disciplinary proceedings, before the same
are concluded, on the aforementioned grounds.” [Para 7]
The
Court quoted following case law
Managing
Director, ECIL, Hyderabad etc. v. B. Karunakar etc.etc. AIR 1994 SC 1074;
Hiran
Mayee Bhattacharyya v. Secretary, S.M. School for Girls & Ors., (2002) 10 SCC
293;
U.P.
State Spinning C. Ltd. v. R.S. Pandey & Anr., (2005) 8 SCC 264; and
Union
of India v. Y.S. Sandhu, Ex-Inspector AIR 2009 SC 161)
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