Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court has ruled that the service of a government employee cannot be terminated without a departmental inquiry, even if the employee is on probation. Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao was allowing a batch of petitions moved by several persons from AP and TS who were appointed Junior Cotton Purchasers in the Cotton Corporation of India in March 2015 and their services were terminated through separate orders by the CCI for producing fake experience certificates.
While determining the validity of the orders passed by the CCI, the judge relied on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Bishan Lal Gupta vs. State of Haryana in which it was stated that “if the order contained a stigma, the termination would be bad as ‘the individual concerned will suffer a substantial loss of reputation that may affect his future prospects.”
The judge noted that “a reading of the orders passed against the petitioners clearly indicates that a finding was recorded that they submitted false experience certificates for securing employment in the CCI. Thus, it will have an effect on the petitioners’ future employment prospects and make them suffer substantial loss of reputation by casting a stigma.”
Setting aside the orders, the judge ordered the CCI to reinstate them and pay salary and other benefits from the date of termination till the date of their reinstatement. The judge made it clear that the order will not preclude the CCI from initiating a departmental inquiry against the petitioners after framing appropriate charges and then taking appropriate action in case, the petitioners were found guilty therein.
