PETER Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR ERNAKULAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A short but interesting question has been raised in this writ petition. Can a Government servant, after his retirement from service, be visited with a penalty in departmental proceedings in this case withholding of the increments in the pay of the petitioner for a period of three years without cumulative effect on the basis of a charge alleging irregularities in the discharge of his official duties while still in service. The charge was laid and explanation called for before he had retired from service.

(2.) THE petitioner was a Deputy Tahsildar, the allegation was that in the matter of accounting the cash collection under the Revenue recovery Act the petitioner had committed certain irregularities. THE charge memo had been issued to him on 9th February 1972. He filed a detailed written statement explaining away the charges on 29th May 1972. He retired from service on 6th July 1972. On 4th May 1973, nearly 10 months after the retirement the District Collector issued the order impugned in this O. P. which states: "the increment in pay of Sri T. G. Peter, retired deputy Tahsildar be withheld for a period of three years without cumulative effect on the proved charges. THE District Collector also directs that the monetary value of the increments withheld will be recovered by adjustment from the D. C. R. G. due to the retired officer. " Taking into account the provisions of the Kerala Civil services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1960 (shortly stated the rules) by themselves, there cannot be any doubt that the impugned order Ext. P-3, cannot be sustained. R. 11 provides for imposition of penalties which states that penalties specified therein could be imposed on a Government servant. A government servant as defined in R. 2 (d) of the Rules means, 'a person who is a member of a service, State or subordinate or who holds a civil post under the kerala Government and includes any such person on foreign service or whose services are temporarily placed at the disposal of any other Government, central or State or a local or other authority and also any person in the service of any other Government, Central or State, or a local authority whose services are temporarily placed at the disposal of the Kerala Government. THErefore, a person retired from Government Service will not come within the ambit of this definition. In contrast, it will be useful to note in this connection R. 23 of the same Rules which entitles every member of service State or subordinate to file appeals against an order imposing any of the penalties mentioned in R. 11 and where it is specifically stated that the expression'member of a service includes a person who has ceased to be a member of that service. THErefore, when once a penalty is imposed on a Government servant, even after his retirement, within the period of limitation as fixed in r. 25, he can file an appeal. However, there is nothing in the aforementioned rules by which after retirement a person who had been in government service could be punished for misconduct alleged to have been committed while in government service.