' MUNIR A. SHEIKH, ACTG. C.J.---The petitioner who was Excise and Taxation Officer passed an order on 1-4-1989 for reduction of seating capacity of a vehicle from 42 to 16. After the said date the said vehicle was impounded when it was found that the same was being plied with 42 seats and the owner had not paid the required tax and caused monetary loss to the Government. The petitioner was charge-sheeted and major penalty of reduction in time scale by three stages was imposed on him by the authority which was challenged by him before the Service Tribunal by filing an appeal which has been accepted partly and the said penalty modified from three stages to one stage.
2. It was argued by the petitioner on the last date of hearing that the seating capacity of the vehicle was reduced on the basis of two certificates issued by the authorised authority i.e, the workshop concerned. We issued notice to the respondents. Ch. Shaukat Ali, Director Excise and Taxation Headquarters and Syed Riaz Hussain, Officer Incharge Legal Cell, Excise and Taxation Department have appeared today and stated that the certificates of workshop were found to be bogus and Assistant Director Excise and. Taxation also gave a dissenting note. However, the tax alongwith the penalty was recovered by the petitioner from the owner of the vehicle.
3. The case of the petitioner was that the seating capacity at the time of passing of the order was actually shown as 16 seats and if the owner of the vehicle had subsequently restored 42 seats in the vehicle and it was impounded, he was not at fault. It was not the case against the petitioner that he actually forged the said two certificates or in any manner was party to it.
4. We find that it is a case of negligence on the part of the petitioner and imposition of major penalty did not commensurate with the kind of the act of the petitioner, therefore, it was a case of imposition of minor penalty, particularly, in view of the fact that during whole period of his service, there is no adverse remarks against him. Adverse remarks were given in his ACR only on the basis of the present incident.
5. In view of the above, this petition is disposed of with the modification of the penalty to minor penalty of stoppage of one increment without cumulative effect.