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State of U.P. & Ors. v. Z.U. Ansari

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 9886 of 2016)Decided 30 Sept 2016
Civil Appeal No. 9886 of 2016
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice V. Gopala Gowda

Background

This is a split decision, not a final judgment. The State of U.P. challenged a High Court order that quashed disciplinary proceedings against a retired Assistant Engineer for want of valid sanction under Regulation 351-A of the Civil Services Regulations. The question was whether a sanction issued by the Minister was valid.

Decision Breakdown

This is a split decision, not a final judgment. Chief Justice T.S. Thakur held that the Minister's sanction was validly issued on the Governor's behalf and allowed the appeal, which would restore the disciplinary proceedings. Justice V. Gopala Gowda disagreed and would have dismissed the appeal, upholding the quashing of the proceedings. Because of the difference of opinion, the Court directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice so that an appropriate Bench could be constituted to hear it.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether a sanction issued by the Minister for disciplinary action against the retired employee was legally valid. The question awaits a differently constituted Bench.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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