Termination of services without holding disciplinary enquiry totally unjustified: SC directs reinstatement of appellant to post of Registrar of G.B. Pant Institute of Engineering & Technology in Uttarakhand
Justices B.R. Gavai & Sandeep Mehta [16-04-2024]

Read Order: SANDEEP KUMAR v. GB PANT INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY GHURDAURI & ORS[SC- CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). 4989-4990 OF 2024]

LE Correspondent

New Delhi, April 17, 2024: While quashing a termination order, the Supreme Court has directed the reinstatement of the appellant to the post of Registrar of the G.B. Pant Institute of Engineering and Technology located in Ghurdauri, Uttarakhand. The Top Court observed that the decision to terminate the services of the appellant from the post of Registrar was not preceded by an opportunity to show cause or any sort of disciplinary proceedings. 

The Division Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta was considering the appeal directed against the judgments of the Division Bench of Uttarakhand High Court dismissing appellant’s Writ Petition assailing the order terminating his services on the post of Registrar of respondent No.1- G.B. Pant Institute of Engineering and Technology (Institute).

The appellant had filed a review application which too was dismissed by the Division Bench. Both these judgments were challenged before the Top Court.

The High Court had held that the appellant herein did not place on record the minutes of the 26th meeting of the Board of Governors held on June 16, 2018 which were referred to in the termination letter. As per the Bench, this non disclosure would tantamount to suppression of material facts warranting dismissal of the writ petition solely on that ground.

It was the appellant's case that the failure to place the aforesaid minutes was neither intentional nor malafide. It was urged that these minutes supported the case of the appellant because the Board of Governors of the Institute approved the recommendations of the Selection Committee, and thereby, selected the appellant as the Registrar of the Institute.

It was also submitted that the appellant continued to satisfactorily serve as the Registrar of the Institute for a period of nearly two years and hence, his services were deemed to have been automatically regularized in terms of clauses (a) and (b) of the appointment letter.

The Bench took note of the fact that the respondent's counsel was not in a position to dispute the fact that before imposing the major penalty of termination of service upon the appellant, no disciplinary enquiry was conducted by the authorities.

Referring to the minutes in question, the Bench observed that the recommendations of the Selection Committee, whereby, the appellant herein was selected on the post of Registrar were approved by the Board of Governors. However, a caveat was marked to the effect that the appointment order of the appellant would be kept in abeyance on account of the fact that some complaints were received regarding the candidate. A three-member committee opined that the appellant fulfilled the eligibility criterion for being appointed on the post of Registrar.

It was also an undisputed fact that the appellant had satisfactorily worked on the post of Registrar in the Institute for nearly two years and thus, apparently, he completed the probation period without demur.

It was observed that the decision to terminate the services of the appellant from the post of Registrar was not preceded by an opportunity to show cause or any sort of disciplinary proceedings. The enquiry as referred to in the termination letter was in relation to the qualifications of the appellant for being appointed on the post of Registrar. 

“In this background, we are of the firm view that the termination of the services of the appellant without holding disciplinary enquiry was totally unjustified and dehors the requirements of law and in gross violation of principles of natural justice. Hence, the learned Division Bench of the High Court fell in grave error in dismissing the writ petition filed by the appellant on the hypertechnical ground that the minutes of 26th meeting of the Board of Governors dated 16th June, 2018 had not been placed on record”, the Bench held.

Thus, setting aside the impugned judgments and quashing the termination order, the Bench directed, “... the appellant shall forthwith be reinstated on the post of Registrar of G.B. Pant Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ghurdauri. He shall be entitled to all consequential benefits.”