J&K Civil Service Regulation | Suspension Period Of Fully Exonerated Govt Servant Has To Be Treated As Time 'On Duty': Jammu & Kashmir High Court

Clarifying the mandate of Article 108-B of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulation, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has observed when a Government servant is completely cleared of any wrongdoing, they are entitled to receive full pay and allowances as if they had never been dismissed, removed, compulsorily retired, or suspended. In such cases, the period of absence from duty is treated as time spent on duty, the court held.

A bench of Justice M A Chowdhary made these expositions while hearing a plea in terms of which the petitioner had assailed a Government Order directing to treat the period of his suspension as leave whatever kind due, with a warning to the Petitioner to be careful in future.

The petitioner, a doctor at a government institute was suspended based on an alleged sting operation claiming that the petitioner and two other doctors were engaged in private practice. The petitioner denied the allegations and argued that the video's authenticity was not properly verified before taking disciplinary action.

After a year-long inquiry, the charges against the petitioner could not be conclusively established due to lack of scientific evidence and as a result, the competent authority accepted the inquiry officer's report and reinstated the petitioner with a warning.

Counsel for the Petitioner Hakim Suhail Ishtiaq submitted that in terms of the mandate of Rule 108-B of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations, when a Government servant has been fully exonerated, he shall be given the full pay and allowances to which he would have been entitled, had he not been suspended.

Since the Petitioner has been exonerated of all the charges levelled against him, yet the period of suspension has been treated as leave whatever kind due, despite the fact that he was attending the office of the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, where he was attached during the period of suspension, he argued.

In its bid to address the controversy involved the bench noted that Article 108-B J&K CSR clearly prescribes that when a Government servant has been fully exonerated of the charges against him, the Government servant shall be given full pay and allowances to which he would have been entitled had he not been dismissed, removed, compulsorily retired before attaining the age of superannuation or suspended, as the case may be, and this period of absence from duty shall be treated as period spent on duty.

Observing that the Enquiry Officer had come to the conclusion that the charge against the Petitioner had not been conclusively established for lack of scientific evidence, the court explained that the said finding does not, in any manner, mean and cannot be stretched to give a meaning that he has not been fully exonerated so as to warrant to treat him not on duty and, instead on leave whatever kind due with a further warning to be careful in future.

"In the considered opinion of this Court, the Petitioner has been fully exonerated as the charge has not been conclusively established by the Enquiry Officer. The competent authority, who reinstated the Petitioner, was, itself, under an obligation to treat him on duty for the period of suspension and not on leave whatever kind due and also without a warning to be careful in future", the bench maintained.

In view of the said observations the bench allowed the petition and directed for treating the period of suspension of the Petitioner as on duty with all consequential benefits.

Case Title: Wajid Ali Vs UT of J&K

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (JKL) 125

Counsel For Petitioner: Mr Hakim Suhail Ishtiyaq

Counsel For Respondent: Ms Asifa Padroo

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