Can't initiate departmental action after employee retires: Gujarat HC

AHMEDABAD: In an important order, the Gujarat high court has ruled that a government department cannot initiate departmental inquiry and issue chargesheet against an employee for any alleged irregularity once he is retired. The HC also said that the authorities cannot stop an employee from taking voluntary retirement.
With these observations, the court on Friday declared null and void the departmental proceedings by the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University against its deputy engineer, Bhupendra Patel, who had taken voluntary retirement before the university could initiate action against him for alleged irregularity.
In this case, the university employed Patel as deputy engineer in 1992. After completion of 20 years in service, Patel opted for voluntary retirement, and gave a three-month notice in October 2013. The university did not respond to his resignation letter.
Twenty-one months after Patel retired in January 2014, the university issued a chargesheet to him in September 2015 after an inquiry report revealed that Patel allegedly caused huge loss to the university. TIts Executive Council decided in 2017 to take action against him.
On the other hand, Patel approached the HC against the university's proceedings citing various judgments that departmental inquiry cannot be initiated against a retired employee. He asserted that since the university did not either accept or reject his resignation letter, he was deemed to have retired in 2014 according to rule 48 of the Gujarat Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 2002. Thus, any departmental inquiry after his retirement was null and void ab initio.
Moreover, Patel also sought HC directions to the university to release his retirement benefits with interest, which the university had held back following the inquiry.
The university opposed Patel's petition on the grounds of delay and claimed that sufficient material was found during preliminary inquiry that he had caused huge loss to the university. It also argued that Patel's voluntary retirement was not accepted.
After hearing the case, the high court cited a Supreme Court's order that the government can withhold pension, if an employee has committed any illegality, but his voluntary retirement cannot be stopped. The HC declared the departmental proceedings against Patel as null and void because Patel is considered retired ahead of initiation of the departmental inquiry.
The HC said that the university can initiate "any appropriate proceedings" against Patel on the basis of findings of its inquiry report.