Central Administrative Tribunal - Chandigarh
Unknown vs Union Of India Through The General ... on 23 August, 2012
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
CHANDIGARH BENCH
OA. 1361/HP/2011
(Reserved on 21.8.2012)
Chandigarh, this the 23rd day of August, 2012
CORAM:HONBLE MR. JUSTICE S.D.ANAND, MEMBER(J)
HONBLE MR.RANBIR SINGH , MEMBER(A)
Shashi Pal s/o Shri Churu Ram, aged 53 years, Village & Post Office Janyenker, Tehsil &District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
APPLICANT
BY ADVOCATE: SHRI V.K. SHARMA
VERSUS
1. Union of India through the General Manager, Northern Railway, Baroda House, New Delhi.
2. Senior Divisional Operations Manager, Northern Railway, Ferozepur.
RESPONDENTS
BY ADVOCATE: SH. YOGESH PUTNEY
ORDER
HONBLE MR. JUSTICE S.D.ANAND, MEMBER(J):-
1. The applicant herein came to be indicted, in an enquiry held in the domestic dispensation, on a charge of having been found under intoxication under Rule 18 of the Railway Servants (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1968 while on duty and also on account of unauthorized absence for the period 20.5.2010 to 23.5.2010.
2. The indictment came about following a confessional statement (Annexure A-6) made by the applicant. The Disciplinary Authority ordered the removal of the applicant from service. In taking that view, the Competent Authority was actuated by the fact that the applicant, being a Gateman, had exhibited an attitude of great irresponsibility by having refrained from closing the Railway gate when an indicated train was to pass through it. It was ultimately the driver of that train who was able to bring the train to a halt before approaching the Railway crossing and he proceeded ahead only after having come down and closed the Railway crossing at his own level.
3. The plea for dilution on part of sentence made by the applicant herein before the Appellate Authority, too, was negatived.
4. The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the applicant vehemently canvassed, during the course of the hearing, that the refrain on behalf of the Inquiring Authority in holding a full-fledged departmental inquiry, must by itself vitiate the finding.
5. The plea merely deserves to be noticed to be negatived for the simple reason that the finding of indictment was exclusively based upon a confessional statement made by the applicant. There is plethora of law on the point that confession/admission of guilt is the best piece of evidence against the maker thereof. There is not even an averment that the applicant had been induced to make a confessional statement. There is also neither an averment nor proof of the fact that the applicant was under any delusion at the time he made the confessional statement aforementioned.
6. The plea raised on behalf of the applicant shall stand rejected accordingly.
7. In the alternative, the learned counsel for the applicant made a plea for reduction of the penalty imposed on the basis of compassion. It was argued, in the context, that the applicant has a family to support and that he has no other means of sustenance.
8. In a case of this type, the very idea of a compassion-based plea, should be foreign to mind. A Gateman, on the establishment of the Railway Department, is required to close the Railway gate at the time a train is to pass through it. The duty enjoined upon the Gateman, is obviously, very sacrosanct. Any dereliction in the relevant behalf can cause immense human and also property loss. A Gateman found guilty of having consumed liquor while on duty, would not deserve any concession at all. That dereliction, it may also be noticed, was compounded by the fact of his unauthorized absence from 20.5.2010 to 23.5.2010. It is validly inferred therefrom that he opted to flee the spot immediately after the plenary dereliction. We are, thus, not inclined to extend any compassion-based concession to the applicant.
9. In the light of the foregoing discussion, the OA is held to be devoid of merits and shall stand dismissed accordingly.
10. The parties shall bear their own costs of the cause in the facts and circumstances of the case.
11. Disposed of accordingly.
(JUSTICE S.D.ANAND) MEMBER(J) (RANBIR SINGH) MEMBER(A) Dated: August 23rd , 2012 ND* 1 OA. 1361/HP/2011