Judgment 1. The petitioner joined the service as Higher Grade Teacher with Secondary Grade qualification on 11.08.1970. He was promoted as Secondary Grade Teacher on 01.01.1971. He was further promoted as Headmaster of Elementary School on 10.06.1987. Thereafter, he was promoted as Middle School Headmaster on 04.07.1994. 2. While so, a memo dated 31.12.2001 was issued to him stating that the record sheet in Admission No.312 was tampered by erasing the original name and inserting one Alli's name and a Transfer Certificate was issued. 3. The petitioner denied the charge stating that he issued only duplicate certificate to Alli and her admission number is 131 and not 312 and Admission No.312 belongs to someone else and therefore, there is no question of tampering by him. 4. But the respondent passed the impugned order dated 12.08.2002 imposing the punishment of stoppage of increment for one year with cumulative effect. 5. Heard both sides. 6. It is seen that the respondent without issuing any proper charge memo under Rule 17(b) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, straight away the impugned order dated 12.08.2002 imposing the punishment of stoppage of increment for one year with cumulative effect was passed. Even in the case of charge memo under Rule 17(a), the proviso to the Rule 17(a) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules prescribes that for imposing the penalty of withholding of increment of pay with cumulative effect for any period, the procedure laid down in sub-rule 17(b) shall be followed before making any such penalty. The said procedure was not followed in this case. Hence, the impugned order is liable to be quashed. Accordingly, it is quashed. 7. Since the petitioner was 54 years at the time of filing the original application before the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal and taking into account the entirety of the circumstances of the case, I am not inclined to remit the matter back to the Department for issuing fresh charge sheet and to conduct the enquiry. 8. Accordingly, this writ petition is allowed. No costs.