HC sets aside disciplinary order against khadi employee

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has set aside a disciplinary order passed against an employee of Tamil Nadu Khadi and Village Industries Board.

The court was hearing a writ petition filed by K. Ramesh from Kumbakonam in 2012, challenging stoppage of increment for a year without cumulative effect passed against him by the disciplinary authority.

The disciplinary authority and the appellate body imposed the punishment over misappropriation of 1.2 kg of white silk after the charge that he made corrections in the stock register through the khadi inspector.

Justice J. Nisha Banu observed that the charge against the petitioner had not been proved. If the petitioner had an intention to misappropriate, he would have corrected the stock register instead of the khadi inspector.

While it was not in dispute that the khadi inspector corrected the register after stock verification without the knowledge of the assistant director, the inspector should also have been issued a charge memo, but it was not done so, the judge said.

The petitioner had been made a scapegoat, the court observed.

It set aside the order passed against the petitioner and directed the authorities to give all consequential service and monetary benefits to him.

EOM