Madras HC voids order allowing HR&CE officer to opt for VRS

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has set aside an order of a single judge that allowed an officer of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department for voluntary retirement despite him facing charges of misappropriation of Rs 1.32 crore of temple funds.

A division bench of justices D Krishnakumar and K Kumaresh Babu passed the orders on Tuesday setting aside the March 16, 2021 order, while allowing the appeals filed by the secretary and the commissioner for the HR&CE department.

The respondent R Muthusamy had worked as executive officer grade-I with the department. He was charged with misappropriation of Rs 1.32 crore. Before action was initiated, he submitted an application to the commissioner, through the joint commissioner concerned in 2020, seeking voluntary retirement. However, the commissioner rejected his application and served a charge memo after suspending him from service.

Citing a lapse of three months in rejecting the application, from the date of submission, he approached the High Court to quash the order of rejection. The single judge ordered in his favour and held he was deemed to have voluntarily retired.

Challenging this order, the department filed the appeal. Special government pleader N R R Arun Natarajan, appearing for the HR&CE department, argued that the single judge had erred in passing the order on the grounds that no order was passed on the voluntary retirement application within three months, as per the Fundamental Rule 56.

He submitted that the rejection order of the voluntary retirement was made well within the stipulated three months and it was appropriately communicated to Muthusamy.

Holding that the single judge had ‘wholly erred’ in arriving at a decision that the commissioner had not passed the rejection order within three months, the division bench set aside the order and directed the commissioner to complete disciplinary proceedings within six months.