No relief for suspended Twad board officer retiring month end

Chennai: Pointing out that it is for the authorities to decide as to whether the suspension of an employee can be continued or revoked, the Madras HC declined to interfere with the suspension of an executive engineer in the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) board. Justice D. Hariparanthaman dismissed a petition filed by executive engineer A. Devaraj, which sought to quash an order of the Twad board, placing him under suspension.

According to Devaraj, by an order dated May 9, 2014, the Twad board placed him under suspension on the basis of a criminal case pending against him before the principal special judge for CBI cases for various offences under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He approached the HC to direct the authorities to consider his representation which sought to revoke the suspension order. The court directed the authorities to dispose of his representation.

However, based on his representation, the authorities sought the opinion of the CBI, the prosecuting agency, and also that of the legal advisor of the board. They recommended upholding the suspension order. As his plea was rejected, he filed the present petition. He said he was due to retire on May 31, 2015 and if he was continued to be placed under suspension, he would not be given terminal benefits.

The judge said there was no bar on the authorities to consult the CBI at any stage of the case. It was not illegal to get an opinion from the legal advisor also. “Apart from duly considering the earlier order of the high court which directed the authorities to consider his representation to revoke the suspension order, the authorities also took note of the opinion given by the CBI and the legal advisor of the board,” the judge added, and dismissed his petition.