S RAJAGOPAL vs UNION OF INDIA AND ORS

Judgment text excerpt

$~74 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 5765/2023 S RAJAGOPAL .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Ankur Chhibber, Mr. Anshuman Mehrotra, Mr. Nikunj Arora, Mr. Arjun Panwar, Mr. Amrit Koul, Ms. Muskaan Dutta, Mr. Prahil Sharma and Mr. Aditya Chawla, Advs. versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS .....Respondents Through: Ms. Aakanksha Kaul, Mr. Akash, Mr. Aman Sahani & Ms. Rhea Borkotoky, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C. HARI SHANKAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAY DIGPAUL JUDGMENT (ORAL) % 19.03.2025 C. HARI SHANKAR, J. 1. The petitioner was enrolled in the Indian Air Force1 as an Airman on 16 July 1996. He was discharged from the service in the Air Force on 25 January 2007. 1 “the IAF”, hereinafter W.P.(C) 5765/2023 Signature Not Verified Page 1 of 19 Digitally Signed By:AJIT KUMAR Signing Date:21.03.2025 14:01:37 2. While the petitioner was serving with the IAF, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited2 issued an advertisement inviting applications for the post of Supervisor Trainee in its organization. The petitioner applied, following a No Objection Certificate issued by the IAF on 25 May 2006 permitting the petitioner to appear in the interview. 3. On the petitioner succeeding in the selection process, the BHEL issued an Offer of Appointment to the petitioner on 18 December 2006. 4. Following this, on 18 January 2007, the IAF issued a discharge order, discharging the petitioner from its service with permission to join a civil post with the BHEL. 5. By then, the petitioner had completed ten years of service in the IAF. The petitioner joined the services of the BHEL on 4 May 2007 and is presently working with the BHEL, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. 6. On 28 January 2022, the petitioner applied for being issue an Ex Service Man3 Identity Card with the Zilla Sainik Board4, Namakkal,