ABDUL HAMID CHOUDHRY (MEMBER).-Muhammad Akhtar, ex---Junior Clerk, Deputy Commissioners Office, Faisalabad has made this appeal to the Punjab Service Tribunal wherein he has impleaded the Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad and the Commissioner, Sargodha Division, Smmrgodha as respondents.
2. By virtue of this appeal the appellant has prayed that the order of the Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad, dated 18-8-1981 and order of the Commissioner, Sargodha Division, Sargodha dated 19-1-1982 be set aside and the appellant be re-instated in service from the date of his dismissal.
3. Brief facts of the case are that the appellant, Muhammad Akhtar, was posted as Junior Clerk in the office of Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad. On the recommendation of the Medical Superintendent, the appellant was granted 15 days leave on medical grounds from 15-8-1978 to 29-8-1978. He was, further, granted medical leave from 30-8-1978 to 18-9-1978 and then from 29- 9-1978 to 28-10-1978. After that there was no response from the appellant and he absented from duty. The appellant wail consequently charge-sheeted on the grounds reproduced below :-
(i) That while posted as Copyist, Copying Agency, Faisalabad you applied for medical leave from 15-8-1978 to 29-8-1978 thereafter from 30-8-1978 to 28-9-1978 and then from 29-9-1978 to 28-10- 1978 which was sanctioned.
(ii) That you did not apply thereafter for further extension and have remained absent without any sanction of the competent authority till the date of application dated 17-3-1979.
(i.e) That thereafter you sent an application for leave from 1.4-1979 to 30-4-1979 on the same ground but after this period you neither attended the office for duty nor you got sanctioned the leave of the entire absenting period.
(iv) That you are now continuously absent from duty without prior sanction /permission and were directed to appear before the Medical Superintendent F,/abed with this Office No. 8944-M/Estt.
Dated 24-11-1979 but despite the fact that this notice was duly served upon you through the Tehsildar, Chistian, you have not appeared before the Medical Superintendent, Faisalabad as inti-- mated by him in his letter No. 575/DHQ, dated 29-1-1980.
(v) That by doing so, you have disobeyed the orders communicated to you in connection with your medical check up.
(vi) That you are, therefore, wilfully Absent from duty and are avoiding to join the service to appear before the Medical Superintendent, District Headquarters Hospital; Faisalabad intentionally and have also failed to send any intimation in com--pliance with the orders dated 24-11-1979, communicated to you through the Tehsildar, Chishtian.
Mr. Shafaat Ahmad E.A.C., Faisalabad was appointed as Enquiry Officer who conducted the enquiry and concluded that all charges as given in the charge-sheet stood established against the appellant. The appellant was issued a show-cause notice which was served on the appellant through Tehsildar, Chistian on 29-7-1981. Though the appellant was directed to appear before the Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad on 7-8-1981 yet he did not appear. The appellant was found guilty of wilful absence, hence he was dismissed from service with immediate effect by order dated 18-8-1981 of Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad. The appellant made an appeal to the Commissioner, Sargodha Division, Sargodha which was rejected vide his order dated 19-1-1982.
Hence this appeal.
4. We have heard the parties. The learned counsel for the appellant has argued that the appellant was seriously ill and he went on medical leave after it was duly recommended by the Medical Superintendent, Faisalabad and sanctioned by the competent authority. Extension of leave was also granted uptil 28-10-1978 to the appellant. As, the appellant was in bad shape of his health, hence, he was not in a position to move about or to appear before the Medical Superintendent, Faisalabad as directed. In support of his arguments, the learned counsel for the appellant, produced a duplicate copy of medical certificate, signed,, by Senior Medical Officer, D. H. Q.
Hospital, Bahawalnagar, wherein four months rest was advised to the appellant w.e.f. 16-5-1980.
Also, large number of prescrip--tions signed by the Senior Medical Officer, D. H. Q. Hospital, Bahawal--nagar, and from the private medical practitioners ranging from the years 1978 to 1982, were produced td show that the appellant was genuinely sick. Some of the prescriptions produced were in favour of his were, as well. It was submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that his sickness and sickness of his were added to the agony of the appellant. Due to these unavoidable circumstances and his serious sickness, the appellant was not in good state of his mind and the appellant was not in a position to appear before the Medical Superintendent or to attend to the calls of the Deputy Commissioner. The learned counsel for the appellant vehemently argued that the case of the appellant has been dealt by the "Authority" under some wrong impression given by his office ; otherwise the appellant did not disobey the orders of the "Authority".
Actually the appellant was incapacitated, due to his serious sickness and his mental condition was such that he was not in a position to attend to any call. It was also submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that the appel--lant had long service of 19 years. Keeping in view his serious sickness, the appellant should have no! Been dealt with so harshly and he should have ban treated sympathetically. Thus the punishment given to the appellant is harsh. Controverting these arguments the learned District Attorney relied on the parawise comments submitted by the respondents and also the impugned order passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad and Commissioner, Sargodha Division, Sargodha. It was argued by the learned District Attorney that if perusal is made of these impugned orders and, also parawise comments, it would be clear that the appellant had absented himself wilfully and he was guilty of misconduct. Thus, the impugned orders have been correctly passed and are lawful.
5. We have given our anxious thought to the arguments so advanced by the parties and have also perused the service record of the appellant.
The appellant was sanctioned leave on medical grounds from 15-8-1978 to 28-10-1978 in piecemeal by Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad. Further--more, the following facts are clear from the personal enquiry file of the appellant so produced by the respondents :-
(a) Medical certificate of Senior Medical Officer, D.H.Q. Hospital, Bahawalnagar, advising the appellant complete rest up to 28-2-1979 (page 29).
(b) Medical certificate of Senior Medical Officer, D.H.Q Hospital, Bahawalnagar further advising him rest for one month (page 39).
(c) Medical certificate from Dr. Capt. Abdul Majid Malik, Senior Medical Officer, D.H.Q. Hospital, Bahawalnagar mentioning that the appellant has serious wound in the left of abdomen and was advised three months' rest w.e.f. 1-5-1979 (page 45).
(d) Medical certificate from Senior Medical Officer, D.H.Q. Hospital Bahawalnagar dated 7-8-1979, advising one month's complete rest. (page 49).
(e) Medical Certificate from Senior Medical Officer, D.H.Q. Hospital, Bahawalnagar advising the appellant, six weeks complete rest with careful treatment up to 14-10-1979 (page 55).
The appellant has also produced at the time of arguments of this case, a duplicate medical certificate signed by Senior Medical Officer, D. H. Q. Hospital, Bahawalnagar advising complete rest for four months w.e.f. 16-5-1980. A medical certificate from Dr. Muhammad Ismail, L. S. M. F., Bank Medical Officer, Chistian, a private practitioner, has also been produced wherein the appellant was certified to have been under his treatment for the dates from 15-8-1980 to 15-10-1981. The appellant has produced the prescription signed by Senior Medical Officers, D. H. Q. Hospital, Bahawalnagar and private practitioner, concerning the years 1978, 1979. 1980 and 1982.
6. The above-detailed medical certificates and prescriptions prove that the appellant was genuinely sick and he remained continuously under the treatment of Doctors during the period, he was treated absent from duty and proceeded against by the departmental authorities. `The Service Book of the appellant shows that he had a good service record for last about 19 years. We are thus in agreement with the arguments of the learned counsel for the appellant, that he was a sick person, not in good condition/state of mind and was not in a position to respond to the calls of the departmental authorities. The plea of his sickness was also taken by the appellant, before the Commissioner, Sargodha Division, Sargodha. However, there is a blemish on the part of the appellant that he could no put up all these facts in writing to defend himself, before the Deputy Commissioner, Faisalabad when he was asked to do so and is responsible to some extent for not informing the "Authority" about his sickness at the relevant time.
7. Keeping the above analysis in view, the impugned orders are set aside. The appellant is directed to be re-instated in service. As the appellant was genuinely sick and had long service of 19 years, the punishment of dismissal from Government service is not in commensurate with the blemish and is directed to be modified as follows:--
(1) Censure.
(2) Stopage of one year increment without future effect.
(3) The period away from duty from 29-10-1978 to the date of reinstatement, be treated as leave of kind due.
There will be no order as to costs.