CAT quashes termination of Haryana accountant general’s office employee

The department subsequently alleged discrepancies in the photograph and signatures/handwriting in the recruitment records and suspected that Kumar had not appeared in the examination himself

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh bench, has quashed the termination of an employee of the office of the accountant general, Haryana, observing that the department failed to follow due process before taking punitive action against him over allegations of impersonation in a Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recruitment examination.

The tribunal left it open to the department to take appropriate action against Kumar in accordance with law. (HT File)

The employee, Sunil Kumar, was appointed as a data entry operator in 2015 after being selected through the SSC examination. He completed his two-year probation period in August 2017.

The department subsequently alleged discrepancies in the photograph and signatures/handwriting in the recruitment records and suspected that Kumar had not appeared in the examination himself. The matter was referred to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, for examination.

Based on the material available with it, the department terminated Kumar’s services on September 28, 2018.

Kumar challenged the termination before the tribunal, denying the allegations of impersonation and contending that the department terminated him without giving him an opportunity to defend himself.

The tribunal found that although the termination order was framed as an administrative action, it was founded on allegations of misconduct and was therefore punitive in nature. Such action, it held, could not have been taken without following the prescribed procedure and providing the employee a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

However, the tribunal clarified that he would not be entitled to back wages for the period during which he remained out of service. The period would, however, be counted for the purpose of seniority, promotion and notional increments.