9911796707
TMI Blog2006 (9) TMI 606X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -1-1995 on the ground that his sister and brother-in-law were involved in an accident. But the Institute sanctioned leave only upto 31-12-1994 and advised him to join duty on 2-1-1995 on the ground that he was required to complete a research assignment expeditiously. c) Since he did not join duty on 2-1-1995, a telegram was sent advising him to report for duty and also pointing out that his absence from 2-1-1995 was unauthorized and that disciplinary proceedings might be initiated against him if he failed to join duty. d) However the appellant again submitted an application for extension of leave from on 9-1-1995 for 60 days with effect from 1-1-1995 and the same was also rejected by a letter dated 30-1-1995 citing pressing exigencies of official work. But the appellant sent a leave letter on 2-3-1995 seeking extension of leave by 1 month on the ground that he was not well. The said request was also turned down. e) Thereafter, there was no communication from the appellant and hence the 1st respondent Institute sent a letter dated 8-8-1995 by registered post calling upon the appellant to report for duty by 16-8-1995. Since there was no sign of the appellant joining duty, the 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Bhagwan Lal Arya v. Commissioner of Police, Delhi AIR2004SC2131 . 6. The learned Counsel appearing for the 1st respondent contended that the repeated directions issued by the 1st respondent to the appellant to join duty did not evoke any positive response and that therefore they had no alternative except to discharge the appellant from service in accordance with the Conduct and Discipline Rules of the Institute. Moreover, the appellant was deputed for a training programme in United Kingdom in 1992 and after the completion of the training, he was supposed to serve the Institute for 3 years, failing which, he was required to reimburse the entire expenses incurred by the Institute for imparting such training. The action of the appellant in proceeding on leave, without completing the contractual obligations and his defiance in not reporting for duty, are all his own creations in order to get over the contractual obligations. Therefore, the learned Counsel for the 1st respondent pleaded that the appellant deserved no sympathy. 7. If we swift through the pleadings of both the parties and the correspondence that they had between them, it is clear that to begin with, the management not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing to the legal aspects canvassed by the learned Counsel for the appellant, it is seen that they revolve around violation of the principles of natural justice. Even at the outset, we are not impressed with the said argument, since in our opinion, "principles of natural justice is for thoroughbred horses and not wild horses". Wild horses understand only the language of the whip and hence there is no use trying to tame them with persuasion. The principles of natural justice themselves have traversed a long way from the stage at which they were treated as a "tharaka manthra" or panacea for all diseases, to the present stage where the courts have started looking at the credentials of the person using them as a shield or sword and accepting the fact that they are not indispensable. 10. In State Bank of Patiala and Ors. v. S.K. Sharma (1996)IILLJ296SC , relied on by the learned Counsel for the appellant, the Supreme Court made a distinction between a 'total violation of natural justice' and 'a mere violation of a facet of the rule'. In other words, a distinction was made between "no opportunity" and "no adequate opportunity" and between "no notice/no hearing" and "no fa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (1998)IILLJ748SC , is relied upon by the learned Counsel for the appellant, for 2 propositions, namely (i) that when a communication sent to an employee returned on account of the addressee not being available even to the postal authorities, it cannot be legally treated to have been served on him and (ii) that when service of a notice is sought to be effected by publication in the Newspaper without making an earlier effort to serve him personally, there is no proper service. But the said judgment also does not go to the rescue of the appellant on account of the following admitted facts: a) While proceeding on leave in the first spell from 18-11-1994, the appellant gave an address at Salem where he could be contacted. He confirmed the said address at Salem while applying for the second spell of leave in his leave application dated 16-12-1994. He received the communication of the employer dated 23-12-1994 sanctioning leave only upto 31-12-1994 along with demand draft for the leave encashment amount, at his Salem address. But by a subsequent leave application dated 9-1-1995, he intimated his return to Chennai and gave his address at Chennai where he had his residence. Therefore the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... duty on 2-1-1995 on account of pressing research assignments. But he defied the said order and continued to send leave letters till 2-3-1995. The reasons stated in the leave letters also kept changing. While the initial spell of leave was on account of his mother's ill health, the second spell was on account of an accident in which his sister was involved. The reasons cited for the subsequent spells of leave upto 2-3-1995 were, his mother's ill health, his mental upset and his own ill-health. After 2-3-1995, no leave application was made till 3-11-1995 and the leave application made on 3-11-1995 (after discharge from service) also cited "domestic problems". Therefore it is clear from the above sequence of events that the appellant was never willing to rejoin duty and an enquiry would not have changed the scenario. As observed by the Supreme court in para 26 of the aforesaid judgment in Aligarh Muslim University case, the appellant was put on notice that his leave was sanctioned only upto a particular date and that he would be discharged from service if he did not join duty. Despite such repeated warnings, the appellant chose to prioritize his 'domestic problems' ove ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
