2014 (9) TMI 899

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....in the office of the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Nanguneri, Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Department by the Assistant Commissioner for Commercial Taxes, Tirunelveli by proceedings, dated 4.11.1989.  A charge memo, dated 3.10.2000 was issued her while she was working at Puliyarai Checkpost, alleging that she had connived with other officials in the Checkpost in allowing the vehicles carrying bone meals to pass through the Checkpost without making entries in the Movement Register to Kerala State during the period from June 1999 to January 2000 and thus paved the dealers to evade tax.  Thereafter, disciplinary proceedings were initiated under Rule 17(b) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal)....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....ent of reduction from the Post of Record Clerk to the post of Office Assistant.  Such punishment, in my considered view, cannot be sustained in view of the dictum of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in "Nyadar Singh versus Union of India and others" reported in "1989 (1) LLN 10, wherein, the Hon'ble Supreme Court while dealing with the similar issue of imposing the penalty of reduction on a Government servant, recruited directly to a particular post, to a post lower than to which, he was so recruited, held that it is improper and cannot be sustained in law.  It has been held as under in para 25 and 32: "25. Though the idea of reduction may not be fully equivalent with 'reversion', there are certain assumptions basic to....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....ior to imposition of the penalty, subject to the condition, however, that the appellant shall not be entitled to any difference of salary for and during the period of reduction. In view of this, we think that the proceedings taken against him should come to an end and there is no need to remit the matter to the Disciplinary-Authority for selection and imposition of a fresh penalty. (ii) In the case of M.J. Ninama the penalty of reduction in rank is set aside and he shall be restored to the post which he held before the imposition of the penalty. However, for the period, if any, served by him in the lower post pursuant to the penalty imposed on him, he shall not be entitled to the difference of salary. It will also not be necessary to rem....