ORDER

Per: Suresh Kumar Monga, Judicial Member The pleaded case of the applicant herein is that he was initially appointed as Postal Assistant in the respondent- department in the year 1974. He was placed in higher pay scales after completion of 16 and 26 years of service in the year 1990 and 2000. Thereafter, he was granted the benefit of MACP Scheme on completion of 30 years of service in the year 2004 and there was nothing adverse against him during his entire service career. It has further been averred that while working as Assistant Post Master, Tonk Head Post Office, Tonk, he sought voluntary retirement on 24.06.2011. His said request for grant of voluntary retirement was accepted by the competent authority and he was given retirement with effect from 01.10.2011 with the direction to respondent no. 4 that before relieving him it should be ensured that no Government dues are to be recovered and no vigilance / disciplinary / court case is pending or contemplated against him. Pursuant to the order of his voluntary retirement, he was relieved from service on 01.10.2011. It has further been pleaded that the respondent no. 4 prepared and submitted the documents with the Director of Accounts (Postal) for grant him the retiral benefits. A sum of Rs. 5,52,420/- was approved towards gratuity. Since the said amount was not released to him immediately after his retirement, therefore, he made a request on 12.01.2012 for releasing the said amount. The respondent no. 4 vide his letter dated 23.02.2012 demanded an undertaking from the applicant for affecting recovery of some amount in respect of a fraud case pertaining to Nayagaon Branch Post Office. After repeated requests made by the applicant, a sum of Rs. 5,24,799/- was released by the respondents on 19.04.2012 after withholding an amount of Rs. 27,621/- i.e. 5% of the total amount of gratuity. Thereafter, the respondents directed the applicant to deposit a sum of Rs. 33047/- on 29.05.2012 so that the withheld amount of the gratuity could be released. It has further been averred that the applicant was not responsible for any fraud case and respondents withheld the amount of gratuity just to harass him. Finally, the respondents issued an order dated 08.06.2012 (Annexure A/1) directing the applicant to deposit a sum of Rs. 33047/- within a period of 15 days and a threat was also given in the said letter that in case said amount is not deposited then the matter will be reported to the police for registration of an FIR against him. Aggrieved by the said action of the respondents, the applicant has invoked the jurisdiction of this Tribunal under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.

2. The respondents by way of filing a joint reply have joined the defence and opposed the Original Application with the assertions that the case with regard to embezzlement was entrusted to ASPO, Sub Division Tonk for investigation and after investigation he submitted a preliminary report on 29.08.2011 in which it was established that there was a huge misappropriation of Government money in the MGREGA accounts from 01.04.2009 to 17.06.2011 by Shri Hari Narayan Swamy, GDS BPM Nayagaon due to the negligence of the applicant who failed to check the total of the NREGA list received from the Nayagaon Branch Post Office. It has further been averred in the reply filed by the respondents that during the aforesaid period, the applicant submitted a notice on 04.06.2011 seeking voluntary retirement with effect from 01.10.2011. Till then the investigation was not completed and total amount of fraud was also not established, hence, the applicant was permitted to take voluntary retirement on 01.10.2011. After submission of the report by the ASPO Sub Division Tonk on 29.08.2011, it came to the notice that there was a fraud of an amount of Rs. 560181/- out of which a sum of Rs. 394946/- was recovered from Shri Hari Narayan Swamy and a sum of Rs. 165235/- was yet to be recovered. The applicant failed to verif