State Of Punjab And Ors. vs K.K. Sharma

The Punjab and Haryana High Court reversed the First Appellate Court's decision and restored the Trial Court's ruling, which found that the disciplinary proceedings against the delinquent were vitiated due to non-furnishing of the enquiry report and non-payment of subsistence allowance, violating the principles of natural justice. The Court held that while the reliance on an unamended service rule was erroneous, the non-payment of subsistence allowance constituted a denial of reasonable opportunity to defend, thus justifying the decree of the suit. The appeal was dismissed, with the modification that the delinquent would only be entitled to wages from the date of the High Court's judgment.