Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 12: In a landmark judgment, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Hasnain Masoodi today held that revocation of suspension of a person arrested in a corruption case as a matter of right cannot be claimed unless the finality of the proceedings is reached.
However, if the competent authority is of the view that suspension order needs to be revoked on proper review, it can be done provided the public interest is not put to prejudice, the DB made it clear.
This landmark judgment has been passed in a petition filed by Mohammad Maqbool Bhat seeking quashment of the order of suspension dated June 2, 2014 and directions for allowing him to continue as Senior Assistant or in the alternative all other persons, who were working on the posts of Executive Engineer, Assistant Executive Engineer and Junior Engineer etc, be also placed under suspension.
Advocate General, Jehangir Iqbal submitted that after investigation of the case registered in FIR No. 91 of 2014 under Sections 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act read with Sections 409/467/468, 120-B RPC in the Police Station Handwara, the Executive Engineer, Assistant Executive Engineer and the Junior Engineer have also been placed under suspension after they were arrested. He further submitted that the investigation of the case was in progress.
After hearing counsel for the petitioner and Advocate General, the DB observed, “it is not in dispute that the writ petitioner is accused of fraud and embezzlement of the Government money. He was arrested on March 18, 2015 and remanded to judicial custody and came out only after bail which was granted on April 3, 2015”.
“In such circumstances the petitioner cannot contend that there is no justification in placing him under suspension pending contemplation of enquiry. It is the contention of the respondents that the investigation conducted so far has revealed that an amount of Rs 86,00,900 and Rs 62,95,053 has been found drawn fraudulently/ dishonestly by abuse of official position by the public servants and later misappropriated”, the DB said, adding “a further sum of Rs 20, 34, 623 drawn on account of non-existent works has also been misappropriated”.
“Thus the writ petitioner is facing a very serious allegation of fraud and misappropriation of Government money and he is facing allegations of corruption while discharging his functions as a Government servant along with others”, the DB said and dismissed the LPA.
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