Madras HC refuses to interfere in tax officers' suspension

CHENNAI: Madras high court refused to come to the rescue of a commercial taxes officer who was placed under suspension hours before his retirement on April last year saying an FIR had been registered against him for serious charges.
“The petitioner attained the age of superannuation on April 30, 2014 but by that time an FIR has been registered against him for serious criminal allegations and the investigation is going on.I am not inclined to interfere with the government orders passed against him. However, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) is directed to complete the investigation within six months,” ruled Justice D Hariparanthaman recently.
V Mathiyalagan, assistant commissioner of commercial taxes department, was not allowed to retire from service and was placed under suspension on April 30, 2014 while he was to retire by evening the same day. He moved the court to quash the order, citing a Supreme Court order which said that without issuing charge memo an employee could not be kept under suspension for more than three months.
Dismissing the petition, Justice Hariparanthaman said the order would apply only to cases where departmental proceedings are contemplated and kept pending for more than three months. “In this case, he attained the age of superannuation on April 30, 2014, but by that time an FIR had been registered against him for serious criminal allegations. In such circumstances, I am not inclined to interfere with the government orders,” he said.