Suspended employees are entitled to subsistence allowance as a matter of right, and proper disciplinary proceedings must be initiated post-conviction under Rule 17(c).

ORDER :

G.ARUL MURUGAN, J.

This Writ Petition is filed seeking for a direction to revoke the suspension and reinstate the petitioner in service and further pay 75% of the subsistence allowance for the period from 01.07.2017 to till date.

2. The petitioner was appointed as Office Assistant by the proceedings of the learned District Judge, Thiruvarur, dated 12.12.2012 and he had joined duty in the District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate Court, Needamangalam on 13.12.2012 and his services also came to be regularised. He was transferred to the District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate Court at Valangaiman where he joined duty on 03.05.2013 and thereafter, he was promoted as Record Clerk and posted at Judicial Magistrate Court No.II at Mannargudi on 05.03.2016 and further transferred as Record Clerk to the Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruthuraipoondi on 27.08.2016.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that he was arrested on a false complaint on 30.11.2016 and detained for more than 48 hours in respect of the offences for an accident that took place on 11.06.2011, when he was working temporarily as Driver in the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd., Kumbakonam, for which a criminal case was registered in Crime No.294 of 2011 by the Thiruvarur Town Police and the charges taken on file in C.C.No.12 of 2013.

4. It is the grievance of the petitioner that when he was suspended on 09.12.2016, he had been paid subsistence allowance only for a period of 7 months from 30.11.2016 to 30.06.2017 and thereafter, the subsistence allowance had not been paid for more than 7 years from 01.07.2017. The petitioner claims to have appeared before the fourth respondent on 01.07.2017 and had furnished necessary certificate as per Rule 53(2) of the Fundamental Rules to the effect that he has not been employed anywhere and he has also been residing in the headquarters. He had also submitted several representations on 01.07.2017, 05.01.2018, 19.11.2018, 19.02.2021, 27.04.2023 and 06.10.2023 requesting to grant 75% of the subsistence allowance and also further requested to reinstate him in service.

5. It is also averred that the criminal case in C.C.No.12 of 2013 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvarur, was concluded and by judgment dated 23.01.2015, the petitioner suffered conviction and was sentenced for the offences under Sections 279, 337 (15 counts), 338 (5 counts) and 304A IPC. The appeal preferred by the petitioner in C.A.No.11 of 2015 on the file of the learned District and Sessions Judge, Thiruvarur, was also dismissed on 10.11.2016 and the further revision preferred before this Court in Crl.R.C.No.1666 of 2016 also came to be dismissed on 31.01.2022.

6. The petitioner had further preferred an appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in S.L.P.(Crl.)No.1072 of 2023 and the case is pending. The petitioner claims that he was appointed as Driver in the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd., Kumbakonam, on 17.05.2011 and was discharged from service on 11.06.2011 for the charges pertaining to the accident that took place on 11.06.2011 and thereafter only, he was appointed in the Judicial Department as Office Assistant on 13.12.2012, as such the said criminal case could no way be connected with the service in the Judicial Department.

7. As per the Tamil Nadu Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1981 [hereinafter referred to as “the Act, 1981”], as a suspended employee, he is entitled to subsistence allowa