HC on missing answer sheets: Charge against accused not proved

S Shyam Prasad | NT

Bengaluru: The High Court has upheld the acquittal of an assistant professor who had been imposed with a penalty even though the charges against him; of causing disappearance of the answer sheet of a candidate, was not proved.

“Only one charge was leveled against the first respondent, namely that he was responsible for the disappearance of six sheets in the answer book. The same is mentioned in the second show cause notice also.

The Enquiry Officer has held that the charge was not proved. However, the Disciplinary Authority has recorded in the preamble of the order that the charge was ‘proved’ and on this specific premise, the penalty order withholding of five increments has been passed,” the High Court noted in its judgement.

Praveen M Anandakanda was working as an assistant professor in the Department of Hindi in the Government First Grade College, Davangere.

He was entrusted with the work of evaluation of Hindi Language papers. One of the papers evaluated by him belonged to one Samreen Banu I. Deshanur.

She was declared ‘failed’. Samreen filed an application for the photocopy of her answer sheets and they were supplied. She found that six answer sheets were missing.

Based on her complaint, a Departmental enquiry was instituted against Praveen with a solitary charge that he was responsible for disappearance of six sheets in the answer book. In the Departmental enquiry, the charges against Praveen were not proved.

A second show cause notice was issued to him in May 2015 charging that he was responsible for the missing answer sheets. After considering his reply, the Disciplinary Authority imposed a penalty of withholding five increments with cumulative effect. Praveen challenged this before the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal.

The Tribunal allowed his application and set aside the penalty order. The State Government challenged this in the High Court in 2022. The Division Bench of Justice PS Dinesh Kumar and Justice TG Shivashankare Gowda gave their judgement on the petition recently.

Dismissing the petition, the Bench said, “In our considered opinion, the KSAT has rightly allowed the application and the same does not call for any interference.” (WP 5838/2022)