Departmental proceedings under Rule 9(2)(b) of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978, cannot be instituted in respect of any event that took place more than four years prior to the date of institution of such proceedings.

Prayer: Writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the Records of the Charge memo issued by the 2nd respondent in Na.Ka.No. 6446/2022/sa.pa1 dated 24.09.2022 consequential order of suspension in Rc.No. 863/2023/AC, dated 25.04.2023 and not allowing the petitioner to retire from service in Rc.no. 863/2023/ac dated 28.04.2023 on the file of the 1st Respondent and quash the same and direct the 1st respondent to allow the petitioner to retire from service and pay all monetary benefits, monthly pension with statutory interest @ 10 percentage per annum from the date of superannuation till payment

For Petitioner(s): Mr.M.S.Palaniswamy

For Respondent(s): Mr.Tamil Vendam, GA.

ORDER

This Writ Petition has been filed for the following reliefs:-

“calling for the Records of the Charge memo issued by the 2nd respondent in Na.Ka.No. 6446/2022/sa.pa1 dated 24.09.2022 consequential order of suspension in Rc.No. 863/2023/AC, dated 25.04.2023 and not allowing the petitioner to retire from service in Rc.no. 863/2023/ac dated 28.04.2023 on the file of the 1st Respondent and quash the same and direct the 1st respondent to allow the petitioner to retire from service and pay all monetary benefits, monthly pension with statutory interest @ 10 percentage per annum from the date of superannuation till payment.”

It is the case of the petitioner that he had joined the services of the Cooperative Department on 16.12.1985 as a Junior Inspector and was promoted to the post of Senior Inspector in the year 1988. Thereafter, on 21.09.2011 he became a Cooperative Sub-Registrar. The petitioner was to attain superannuation on 30.04.2024.

The petitioner would submit that while he was working as a Cooperative Sub Registrar under the control of the 2nd respondent, the 1st respondent had deputed him on foreign services as a Special Officer, Additional Charge in the PE62, Tamil Nadu Cooperative Textile Processing Mill Employees Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society Limited, Erode. This additional charge was held by him from 04.12.2007 to 20.09.2011. 10 years after he had been relieved from the said Society, the Registrar of Cooperative Society had ordered an enquiry under Section 81 of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) regarding the issuance of loans to persons between the period 01.04.2010 to 31.10.2016. The enquiry officer had conducted the enquiry behind the petitioner’s back and submitted her enquiry report on 23.03.2023. On the basis of this enquiry report, the 2nd respondent had issued a charge memo under Section 17(b) of the Tamilnadu Civil Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules (hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”) on 24.09.2022. The charge against the petitioner was that while he was working as a Special Officer in the aforesaid society, the Secretary of the Society had committed irregularities and had issued loans to persons without discharging the earlier loans and that the petitioner as the Special Officer had not supervised the loan files.

Pending the charge memo, the 2nd respondent simultaneously issued a surcharge notice under Section 87 of the Act dated 10.11.2022 based on the enquiry report under Section 81 of the Act and directed the petitioner to submit his explanation within a period of 15 days.

It is the contention of the petitioner that the surcharge notice dated 10.11.2022 is barred by limitation and therefore he had challenged the same by filing W.P. No. 32549 of 2022. In the said writ petition, an order of interim stay of all further proceedings was granted on 12.12.2022, and the said writ petition is still pending disposal.

Meanwhile, the petitioner was shocked to receive the proceedings dated 28.04.2023 from the 1st respondent suspending him from service by invoking Rule 17(c) of the Rules on the ground that the criminal offence is under investigation and a surcharge c