Ashok Kumar Srivastava vs Union Of India & Ors

Om Prakash VII, Member (J)

Shri Jai Gobind Upadhyay, learned counsel for the applicant and Shri Anil Kumar, learned counsel for the respondents, are present.

Heard learned counsel appearing for the parties.

Submission of learned counsel for the applicant is that the applicant has superannuated. A disciplinary proceeding was started in the year 1998 against the applicant during his service period. Punishment was also imposed on 05.09.2005. Against the punishment order, the applicant had preferred an appeal on dated 10.10.2005 but the said appeal has not been decided till date. He further submitted that the applicant will be satisfied if the O.A. is disposed of at this stage itself directing the competent authority amongst the respondents to decide the pending appeal of the applicant by passing a reasoned and speaking order thereon in a time bound manner.

Learned counsel for the respondents opposed the prayer made by learned counsel for the applicant and argued that the appeal was filed in the year 2005 and the present O.A. has been filed in the year 2026. He argued that as per the rules, the applicant should have approached this Tribunal immediately after the passage of six months from the date of making the appeal in case it was not decided. He contended that no delay condonation application has been filed in the matter and no such direction can be given to the competent authority to decide the appeal in a time bound manner at this stage.

We have considered the rival submissions of learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the entire documents record.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, keeping in view the submission raised on behalf of the applicant, since the appeal is stated to be pending and no decision has been said to have been made/passed by the respondents, there is no occasion to file the delay condonation application. Therefore, in view of the limited prayer made by the applicant, without entering into the merits of the case, the O.A. is disposed of at this stage itself with a direction to the competent authority amongst the respondents to decide the pending appeal of the applicant dated 10.10.2005 (Annexure A-1 of the OA) by passing a reasoned and speaking order thereon within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order and the same should be communicated to the applicant forthwith. It is clarified that if the aforesaid appeal of the applicant has already been decided, the copy of the order passed in the appeal be supplied to the applicant forthwith.

All associated M.As. also stand disposed of. No order as to costs.