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The Hindu

HC refuses to interfere with punishment imposed on retired TNCSC official

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has refused to interfere with the punishment imposed by the disciplinary authority on the then Regional Manager of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) of Ramanathapuram region. The court was hearing a petition filed in 2018 by P. Soundarapandi, who retired as Regional Manager, TNCSC, in 2017. When he was working as Regional Manager of Ramanathapuram region, disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him. The petitioner was handed a punishment of censure. The suspension period was treated as leave on loss of pay. The appeal against the punishment was rejected. Challenging it, the current petition was filed. Justice B. Pugalendhi observed that the petitioner was issued with a charge memo that bricks and clay were mixed with paddy in four procurement centres. As a supervisory authority he failed to monitor and a fraud was committed. The paddy was procured by both the Central and the State governments to provide food grains to the needy at a subsidised rate under the public distribution system. The governments were spending huge amounts for the scheme. The governments had also issued various guidelines in ensuring the quality of paddy procured through the centres, the court observed. The petitioner could not take advantage of the fact that being the Regional Manager he was not responsible for any irregularities committed in the procurement centres. The irregularities were grave in nature which did not occur in one centre but in four centres, the court observed. The higher level and supervisory officers were appointed in order to ensure that their subordinates functioned in a proper manner. The court was not inclined to accept the contention of the petitioner that as a Regional Manager, he was not responsible for the fraud committed in the procurement centres. Since the petitioner was imposed with censure, as per Chapter V of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation Limited Employees Service Regulations, he was entitled for the relief of treating the suspension period as leave period, the court observed.