RAJESH CHANDULAL SHAH Vs. AMC MEDICAL EDUCATION TRUST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether the Municipal Commissioner could derive powers under Section 67(3) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 to pass order to suspend municipal officer in wake of provision of Section 56(1)(b) and other attendant provisions of the Act, is the crisp question of law arising for consideration in the present petition.

(2.) By filing the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner has prayed for declaring the action on part of the respondents in suspending the services of the petitioner by order dated 07th March, 2018 to be illegal. The petitioner has further called in question the issuance of show-cause notice dated 07th March, 2018 and chargesheet dated 23rd March, 2018, to further pray to take the petitioner back on the original post.

(3.) Noticing the attendant facts, the petitioner was initially appointed as Casualty Medical Officer on 20th August, 1989. Having served in the different capacities in the different departments under the respondents, the petitioner lastly took charge as Medical Superintendent at L.G. General Hospital run by the respondent - Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. It was the allegation against the petitioner that as per the complaints received against him from different authorities, petitioner was in the habit of receiving money for getting any work sanctioned, for passing tenders and passing bills and further that commission was required to be paid to the petitioner for getting any work, major or minor, in the hospital. It was alleged that the petitioner had been charging money from the poor patients should come to him at the L.G. Hospital, by forcing such patients to come to his private hospital for further treatment. It was also te allegation that the petitioner used to take commission from various agencies including private security deployed at the hospital and further that the petitioner used to demand money while signing the bills presented to him. In wake of the aforesaid charges, petitioner came to be suspended by passing impugned order.