Hyderabad: The AP Administrative Tribunal has quashed disciplinary proceedings against Rangasai Bhatt, retired deputy director of the Information and Public Relations Department, of erstwhile state of AP.
The petitioner challenged the disciplinary proceedings initiated against him in January 2010 a few days prior to his retirement based on a false complaint by the then commissioner of the department alleging that he had allegedly printed and distributed a pamphlet making derogatory remarks against the then I&PR minister.
According to him, police booked a case under the provisions of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and arrested and remanded him to judicial custody and on the verge of his retirement, he was placed under suspension by the government on the ground that he was in judicial detention for more than 48 hours.
He moved the Supreme Court and the Apex Court quashed the criminal proceedings holding that a reading of the said pamphlet does not disclose any derogatory remarks against SCs or STs and at best it could amount to fair criticism. Such criticism would never attract the said SC & ST Act.
K. Lakshmi Narasimha, appearing for the petitioner before the Tribunal, argued that in view of the quashing of the very criminal complaint by the Supreme Court, the continuance of the departmental proceedings was illegal and non-payment of any retirement benefits amounts to violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
While quashing the proceedings, the tribunal said that it was nothing but an abuse of process of law and ordered that the government pay all the retirement benefits to the applicant within three months with an interest of 7 per cent per annum.
