High Court Orders CBI Probe Into Death of Law Grad

Hyderabad:Justice Tukaramji of the Telangana High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a de novo probe into the death in suspicious circumstances of a law graduate from Suryapet, holding that the investigation conducted by the police was vitiated by “serious lapses, inconsistencies and a reasonable apprehension of bias.” The judge made the order in a writ petition filed by the father of the deceased, Dharavath Bhaskar, challenging the manner in which the investigation into the death of his son was conducted and seeking transfer of the probe to an independent agency. It was observed that the manner in which the investigation proceeded raised substantial doubts regarding its fairness and completeness. The judge noted that the investigating agency appeared to have prematurely proceeded on the theory of suicide without exhaustively examining material suggestive of homicidal circumstances. The court took note of allegations that the deceased, who belonged to a Scheduled Tribe community, was facing opposition over an inter-caste relationship and observed that the caste angle and possible offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were not properly investigated. The judge found deficiencies in the collection and preservation of electronic evidence, delay in securing forensic material, inconsistencies in medical opinions, and failure to promptly furnish records to the family of the deceased. Holding that transfer of the matter to another state agency would not sufficiently address the apprehensions expressed by the petitioner, the court entrusted the investigation to the CBI and directed the agency to register a regular case, conduct a fresh investigation into all possible offences, including murder and criminal conspiracy, and file an appropriate final report in accordance with law.

HC admits court steno plea for promotion

A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court admitted a writ plea filed by a court stenographer challenging denial of promotion to the post of chief administrative officer (category-I) (CAO, C-1) on the ground that he obtained his degree through distance education without prior permission from the competent authority. The panel comprising Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda was dealing with a writ petition filed by D. Nagender, stenographer grade-I in the court unit at Miryalguda in Nalgonda district. The petitioner questioned the action of the authorities in returning his representation dated March 18 without forwarding it for ratification of his BA degree obtained through distance education from Kakatiya University in 2011-14. Counsel for the petitioner contended that similarly situated employees were granted ratification of qualifications and corresponding entries in their service registers, whereas the petitioner alone was denied similar treatment, rendering the action discriminatory, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The writ petition assailed the communication dated February 17 issued by the Principal District Judge, Nalgonda, refusing to consider the candidature of the petitioner for promotion to the post of CAO, C-1 on the ground that the qualification was acquired without prior permission. During the hearing, the panel was informed that the petitioner obtained the qualification in 2014 and that the same was entered in his service register. It was brought to the notice of the court that despite the alleged defect, the petitioner was granted two promotions —from stenographer grade-III to grade-II on October 9, 2017. and thereafter from grade-II to grade-I on July 19, 2022 — and continued in service without any adverse proceedings concerning the said qualification. The panel directed standing counsel for the High Court administration to obtain instructions in the matter and posted the case to June 17.

Sweeper with 30-yr service gets regularisation

Justice Surepalli Nanda directed the state authorities including the police to consider, within four weeks, the claim of a person who had served the police for over three decades on a paltry sum of `4,000 per month for regularisation with retrospective effect and consequential service benefits. The judge effectively allowed a writ petition filed by Mohd Nizamuddin, who complained that he was not only denied of wages prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act but also that he was subjected to near-enslavement due to his helplessness. In her 32-page judgment, Justice Nanda quoted extensively from apex court rulings and spelt out the different categories by which governments in multiple ways defeat the rights of employees. She echoed the principle that while budgetary constraints and compliance with recruitment rules warranted consideration they “ do not absolve the employer of statutory obligations or negate equitable entitlements”. The judge added: “Bureaucratic limitations cannot rump the legitimate rights of workmen who have served continuously in de facto regular posts for an extended period.” She faulted the authorities for not discharging their duty in examining the request of the petitioner for regularisation. Citing various pronouncements of the High Court and the apex Court, Justice Nanda ruled that the petitioner was entitled to be considered for regularisation. The court stopped short of directing the petitioner’s regularisation and required the authorities to consider the same within four weeks from the date of a fresh application by the petitioner.