The Court passed the judgement on an appeal moved by the Central government against an order of the Madras High Court which had dismissed their plea to set aside an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
The CAT had modified the punishment of the respondent public servant from dismissal/removal from service to compulsory retirement.
The respondent was a Postal Assistant who defrauded the postal department of ₹16,59,065.
A departmental enquiry into the fraud was initiated following which, he deposited the defrauded amount along with the interest and admitted to his act of fraud before the enquiry committee.
The disciplinary committee, after noting the seriousness of the misconduct, passed an order for removal from service.
The respondent challenged the same before CAT which altered the punishment to compulsory retirement after noting he had confessed and had completed 39 years of service.
The CAT’s order was upheld by the Madras High Court, prompting the Central government to file the present appeal.
Source: Barandbench
