Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

“Suspension order need not contain every detail”

MADURAI: A suspension order issued to a government servant on grave charges of acting against public interest need not contain every detail of the accusations, the Madras High Court held on Thursday.

Justice S. Nagamuthu passed the ruling while dismissing a writ petition filed by a Senior Civil Surgeon with the Government Hospital at Sankarankovil in Tirunelveli. He was accused of covering up the death of a six-year-old girl in the hospital and manipulating the records to make it look as if she had absconded.

The petitioner had challenged two Government Orders issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department on April 28, 2005, suspending him from service and also preventing him from retiring until the disciplinary proceedings concluded. He contended that the two GOs were liable to be quashed as they were issued five years after the alleged incident.

Rejecting the contention, the Judge said: “If the petitioner is aggrieved by the delay in the disciplinary proceedings, the remedy available for him is to either seek for a direction to expedite the proceedings or to challenge the charge memo. It is not open for the petitioner to challenge the impugned orders on the ground of delay.”

He also vacated an interim order passed by his predecessor on July 14, 2005 permitting the surgeon to retire from service without prejudice to the Government’s right to continue the departmental enquiry. It shall be deemed that the petitioner was retained in service for the purpose of conducting the enquiry. “When I do not grant the main relief in the writ petition, it goes without saying that the original position prior to the passing of the interim order is to be restored. All consequential benefits given to the petitioner pursuant to the interim order shall be subject to the final outcome of the disciplinary proceedings,” he said.

Mr. Justice Nagamuthu made it clear that the petitioner was not entitled to pension except the provisional subsistence allowance given to employees under suspension.

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