RATTAN SINGH CHAHAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The orders dated 28.08.2015 and 22.04.2015, passed by the Chief Secretary to Government Haryana, produced today in Court, are placed on record as Annexure-A and Annexure-B respectively. The petitioner, a retired Officer of the Haryana Civil Services (Executive Branch), has approached this Court through the present petition seeking directions to the respondent to release his retiral benefits, to grant him senior scale/selection grade as well as salary for the period he remained under suspension.

(2.) The prayer made by the petitioner for the grant of salary for the period he remained under suspension, in view of order dated 28.08.2015, has been rendered infructuous as through this order, the period of suspension of the petitioner has been ordered to be treated as duty period. Senior scale/selection grade has been denied to the petitioner on the ground that as per the applicable instructions, for being granted senior scale/selection grade, the pre-requisite was that the concerned employee should have a satisfactory record. The petitioner's record, for the relevant period, was not found satisfactory as during this period, he earned adverse entries in his Annual Confidential Report (ACR) including entries with regard to doubting his integrity. These facts have specifically been pleaded in the written statement filed on behalf of the respondents, to which there is no rebuttal on behalf of the petitioner, as no replication to the same has been filed. Thus, the prayer of the petitioner with regard to grant of senior scale/selection grade cannot be granted.

(3.) The petitioner retired from service on 31.10.2006. Though he was paid provisional pension, his retiral benefits were withheld for the reason that he had been served a charge-sheet dated 26.05.2006 for imposition of major penalty under Rule 7 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1987. At the time of hearing, learned State counsel produced order dated 22.04.2015 (Annexure-B), passed by the Chief Secretary to Government Haryana, which is to the effect that in the regular departmental inquiry, which was conducted against the petitioner in pursuance to the afore-referred charge-sheet, since the charges remained unproved, the disciplinary proceedings have been ordered to be dropped. That being so, as per the instructions of the Government of Haryana, Finance Department, dated 20.02.2002, the petitioner would not only be entitled to release of his retiral benefits but would also be entitled to interest thereupon.