Telangana HC: Removal from service of an insurance officer, who was later honourably acquitted on the same allegations, is excessive and red

Summary

An officer of National Insurance Company Limited was dismissed in 2002 after a departmental inquiry into medical-claim settlements, and the appellate authority upheld the penalty in 2016. He was later tried on substantially the same allegations in a corruption case and honourably acquitted. The High Court held that removal from service, after about 24 years of service, was unduly harsh and disproportionate.

The court's decision

The Court allowed the writ petition in part, setting aside the 2002 punishment order and the 2016 appellate order so far as they uphold the penalty, and modified the punishment from removal from service to compulsory retirement. It noted that, despite some non-compliance with procedure on claim formats and guidelines, the main allegations of collusion, clearing claims without scrutiny and causing financial loss had stayed unproved in the criminal court. Because the petitioner is now about 73 and seriously ill, it directed the company to pay all consequential pension and retirement benefits, gratuity and provident fund within six weeks, with no order as to costs.

Provisions referred to

Article 226 of the Constitution of India

Sections 13(1)(d) and 13(2), Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

Official source: High Court for the State of Telangana. The PDF above is a copy from an open dataset of the court's public records.

This summary is prepared for general assistance only. It may contain errors and is not legal advice — rely on the full judgment.

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