State of Orissa Vs. Subash Chandra Rath

- labour & services pay scale:[tarun chatterjee & r.m. lodha,jj] fixation - orissa service code (1939), rule 74(b) promotion - government servant, by virtue of rule 74(b), gets higher pay than what he was getting immediately before his promotion - circular dated 19.3.1983 modifying earlier circular dated 18.6.1982 resulting in reduction of pay of employee on promotion held, it is not legal. statutory rules cannot be altered or amended by such executive orders or circulars or instructions nor can they replace statutory rules. sujit barman roy, c.j.1. respondent subash chandra rath was at the relevant point of time appointed as veterinary asst. surgeon at belpahar. he was accused for having taken a bribe of rs. 200/- for giving a false certificate regarding the value of certain buffalo. the alleged incident occurred on 2.8.1986. since then, little more than two decades' time has elapsed. the amount of bribe allegedly taken by the respondent was for a paltry sum of rs. 200/-. such conduct of the respondent must be highly deprecated when it is done by a responsible officer of the government, namely, the veterinary asst. surgeon. but, as a long a time has elapsed since the occurrence had taken place and the appeal was filed in the year 1994 and since then, more than 12 years' time has elapsed, and for this inordinate delay in disposing of the appeal the court cannot lay blame on the respondent, i am of the view that it would be a sheer travesty of justice to alter the finding of acquittal at this belated stage.2. the appeal is accordingly dismissed.