CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL CHENNAI BENCH Dated this the 17^th day of February, Two Thousand Twenty Six CORAM :

HON'BLE MR M. SWAMINATHAN. MEMBER (J)

AND HON'BLE MR. M.L. SRIVASTAVA MEMBER(A)

A. Rojapoo, S/o Arumugam, Morambukodu, Konganapuram, Idappadi,Salem. .. Applicant By Advocate M/s R. Malaichamy Vs.

1.Union of India rep by the Postmaster General, Western Region (TN), Coimbatore.

2. The Superintendent of Post Offices Namakkal Division, Namakkal.

3. Inspector of Posts, Sankari Sub-Division, Sankari Drug RS. .. Respondents By Advocate Ms. Shakila Ananad

ORDER

(Pronounced by Hon'ble Mr. M. Swaminathan, Judicial Member)

Aggrieved by the penalty order, dated 14.09.2013 issued by the 3^rd respondent, imposing the punishment of removal from service and upheld by the Appellate and Revisionary Authorities, the 2^nd and 1^st respondent herein, vide their order, dated 31.07.2015 and 24.08.2016 respectively, the applicant has filed the OA for quashing of the said orders and for a direction to reinstate her in service with all attendant benefits.

2. The essential facts which are necessary for adjudication of the case are as follows:

The applicant was initially appointed as Gramin Dak Sevak Mail Deliverer (GDS MD) at Thangayur Branch Office and was subsequently transferred and posted as Gramin Dak Sevak Mail Packer (GDS MP) at Konganapuram Sub Office with effect from 07.05.1986. He submits that one M. Thirunavukkarasu, who was then serving as Sub-Postmaster at Konganapuram S.O., committed misappropriation of depositors’ funds in the said Sub Office to the tune of more than Rs. 20 lakhs. Consequently, he was placed under suspension pending contemplation of charges. The said Sub-Postmaster admitted his misconduct and was reinstated into service, with an order directing recovery of nearly Rs. 10,000/- per month from his pay and allowances. However, nearly 11 years after the date of the incident, in August 2016, he was dismissed from service. Even thereafter, the entire amount misappropriated from the depositors was not fully recovered from him. Subsequently, a 100% verification of all accounts was conducted at Konganapuram S.O. for the period during which M. Thirunavukkarasu served as Sub-Postmaster. During such verification, a discrepancy was allegedly found in Time Deposit Account No. 31661 standing in the name of Smt. Gunavathi. It is stated that Smt. Gunavathi did not lodge any complaint with the competent authority for about a year, despite being aware of the entry of Rs. 3,000/- in her passbook. However, after completion of the 100% verification, the authorities approached the said depositor and obtained a statement dated 18.07.2006, allegedly with the intention of initiating action against the applicant. In the said statement, Smt. Gunavathi is stated to have claimed that she had entrusted Rs. 8,000/- to the applicant for opening a Time Deposit account in her name. According to the applicant, he had no authority or responsibility to open accounts. He contends that, on the instructions of the Sub- Postmaster, he received the amount from Smt. Gunavathi and was directed to prepare SB-3 and SB-103 forms for opening the Time Deposit account in her name. On 18.07.2005, he inadvertently recorded the amount as Rs. 3,000/- instead of Rs. 8,000/- in her passbook. No complaint was made by Smt. Gunavathi at that time regarding the entry of Rs. 3,000/- dated 18.07.2005. However, a statement was allegedly obtained from her on 18.07.2006 with a view to take action against the applicant. Subsequently, a Charge Memo dated 17.11.2009 was issued under Rule 10 of the GDS (Conduct and Engagement) Rules, 2001, alleging that while working as GDS MP at Konganapuram S.O. on 18.07.2005, the applicant received Rs. 8,000/- from Smt. Gunavathi and issued a receipt only for Rs. 7,000/-. The applicant denied the charge. However, after an inquiry, he was removed from service. Aggrieved by the said order, the applicant preferred an appeal and thereafter a revision petiti