VIGILANCE MANUAL VOLUME III - AP Online

772 DECISION - 390
Laxman Lal vs. State of Rajasthan,
1994(5) SLR RAJ (DB) 120
This is an appeal against the order of the High Court, where
a Single Judge dismissed the writ petition filed by the appellant against
the order of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Udaipur, as well
as the order of dismissal.
The Division Bench of the High Court found no force in the
contentions raised by the appellant. There was no statutory bar for
disciplinary proceedings and court prosecution to go on
simultaneously and the proceedings before the disciplinary authority
already stood concluded and punishment had been imposed on the
basis of the enquiry itself and the acquittal of the appellant later by
the criminal court had no effect whatsoever on the conclusions arrived
at in the enquiry resulting in punishment. These proceedings became
final much before the verdict of the criminal trial and there was hardly
any justification for the authorities to reconsider the case of the
appellant after more than two years of the conclusion of the
proceedings and finality of the order on the basis of the findings
recorded by the criminal court in appeal.
The High Court pointed out that the punishment of the
appellant was not based on the findings of conviction recorded by
the Magistrate. It was totally an independent enquiry and the acquittal
by the criminal court later had no effect whatsoever on those
proceedings. It was also noted by the Single Judge of the High Court
that apart from common charges, yet there was charge No.6 relating
to absence of the appellant from duty and a delinquent employee
against whom proceedings by the disciplinary authority are initiated
it would be open for the said authority to proceed since the two
proceedings are entirely different in nature and aimed at to achieve
different ends. The appellant could have and should have made
efforts to get the disciplinary proceedings stayed in the situation but
no such attempt was made and the proceedings were allowed to