JABALPUR, India, June 4 -- Madhya Pradesh High Court issued the following judgment/order on May 4:

1. This Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been preferred by the petitioner, being aggrieved by the charge sheet dated 25.06.2019 (Annexure P/1) issued by Respondent No. 2. By way of the impugned charge sheet, the petitioner has been subjected to disciplinary proceedings for a cause of action pertaining to the year 2013.

2. The petitioner seeks the indulgence of this Court to quash the impugned charge sheet and all consequential proceedings, declaring the same as void ab-initio. The petitioner further prays for a direction to the respondents to conduct a review Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for the post of Joint Collector to consider his name, and to restrain the respondents from taking any coercive action.

Facts of the Case

3. The petitioner was initially appointed as a Naib-Tehsildar on 14.08.1996. He was subsequently promoted to the post of Tehsildar on 08.01.2003, and was further promoted as a Deputy Collector vide order dated 28.10.2014. Presently, the petitioner is discharging his duties as Deputy Collector, Dhar.

4. In the year 2013, the petitioner was posted as Tehsildar, Ratlam. While performing his statutory quasi-judicial and executive functions, the petitioner passed an order in accordance with law with regard to attached land bearing Survey No. 173, area 2.000 Hectares, and conducted auction proceedings in respect of the said property.

5. To the utter surprise of the petitioner, he was directly served with the impugned charge sheet dated 25.06.2019 without any prior show-cause notice. The charge sheet levels four specific charges against him regarding acts discharged during his tenure as Tehsildar in the year 2013.

6. Charge Nos. 1 and 2 are inter-related and pertain to the auction of the attached property (Survey No. 173), which the petitioner claims was done pursuant to the orders of this Court in W.P. No. 5530/2012 and upheld in W.P. No. 7250/2013. Charge Nos. 3 and 4 relate to an order dated 16.04.2013 passed in Case No. 18/A-6/12-13, whereby mutation was directed on the basis of a will.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://mphc.gov.in/storage/upload/indore/MPHCIND/2020/WP/189/WP_189_2020_FinalOrder_04-05-2026.pdf)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.