STATE OF KERALA Vs. SUGUNAN V.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent while working as an Additional Tahsildar was placed under suspension on 26.11.2014 in connection with a vigilance trap case following his arrest and detention about which there is no dispute. The respondent was reinstated on 28.9.2015 and he retired from service as Senior Superintendent on 30.11.2015 while the final report in the vigilance case was filed on 27.12.2016. His plea for disbursement of full retiral benefits on the ground that the cognizance of the criminal case was taken after the date of retirement has met with approval by the Tribunal.

(2.) The Senior Government Pleader rightly contends that the departmental proceedings have commenced by the order of suspension and therefore the rigour of Rule 3A of Part III of the Kerala Service Rules applies. That statutory provision enables the Government to pay only provisional pension to the respondent and withhold his gratuity until the conclusion of the proceedings. The Senior Government Pleader further submits that departmental proceedings may or may not be continued which would of course depend on the criminal proceedings pending in court.

(3.) It transpires that the criminal case by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau as VC6/2014/ALP is still pending on the file of the Vigilance Court, Kottayam and the respondent is yet to be given a clean chit. Whether there has been any pecuniary loss to the Government or any part of the pension be recovered are matters to be considered after the verdict as per Rule 3 of Part III of the Kerala Service Rules. We do not think that it will be equitable to direct the Government to pay the entire retiral benefits to the respondent even before the culmination of the proceedings.