Service and retiral benefits cannot be withheld over pending appeal: Raj HC

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that service and retiral benefits of an employee cannot be withheld merely due to a pending appeal once the employee has been acquitted of charges, holding that such denial is unjustified and contrary to settled legal principles.

The order was passed by a bench of Justice Ravi Chirania on April 30 while allowing a writ petition filed by one Devendar Salolya, a resident of Uniara in Tonk district.

Counsel for the petitioner, Laxmikant Sharma, said Salolya was appointed as a junior clerk in the Rajasthan SC/ST Financial and Development Cooperative Corporation on April 6, 1988. Due to a corruption case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), however, he was placed under suspension.

“His suspension period from May 1, 2000, to March 31, 2011, was neither regularised nor considered for pay fixation and other service benefits,” Sharma said.

The petitioner was later acquitted by the ACB court in Kota on April 7, 2016.

“The ACB, however, filed a criminal appeal before the high court, which has remained pending since 2016. Owing to the pendency of this appeal, the petitioner was denied pay fixation, pay commission benefits and all three Assured Career Progression (ACP) benefits even after his retirement on Jan 31, 2022,” Sharma said.

Challenging this denial, Salolya approached the high court seeking release of all retiral and service benefits.

Allowing the petition, the court directed the respondents to regularise the suspension period and grant all consequent service and retiral benefits. It further ordered that payments be made within three months with interest at 6% per annum..
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