PPSC scam: HC junks 2 ex-judicial officers’ plea seeking reinstatement
Nov 30, 2024 09:34 AM IST
They were recruited pursuant to a 2001 advertisement for 21 posts of PCS (judicial). They were issued the appointment letter on March 18, 2002. However, before posting orders could be issued, the PPSC scam came to light and they were booked in the corruption case.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has dismissed a plea from two former judicial officers, whose services were terminated after the 2002 Punjab Public Service Commission scam came to the fore.
The high court bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur and justice Sudeepti Sharma in its judgment said that proceedings initiated by the duo attained finality as the 2008 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana high court on the issue was not challenged by them. In the 2008 judgment, the high court division bench upheld the dismissal.
The pleas were from Rajinder Bansal and Anil Kumar Jindal.
They were recruited pursuant to a 2001 advertisement for 21 posts of PCS (judicial). They were issued the appointment letter on March 18, 2002. However, before posting orders could be issued, the PPSC scam came to light and they were booked in the corruption case.
The cash-for-job scam involving former Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) head Ravi Sidhu was busted by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau and he was accused of accepting bribes for recruitment between 1995 and 2002.
Sidhu was termed as the key conspirator and was awarded a seven-year rigorous imprisonment in a disproportionate assets and corruption case by a trial court in 2018. In 2015, a Patiala court too sentenced Sidhu to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for his involvement in the scam.
In the case of judicial officers, the high court constituted a committee to investigate the matter, which recommended the termination of service of four batches 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Exams were conducted afresh for those recruited during this period. In 2002, petitions were filed against the termination orders by the affected officers. However, the same was dismissed in 2008 by the high court.
The duo had argued that in March 2016 they were acquitted of all charges. Therefore, the tainted record of the petitioners is cleared and they are now out of shady zone and deserve to be re-instated.
The court dismissed the pleas observing that 2008 orders had attained finality as petitioners did not challenge the same before the Supreme Court. Also, it said that the challenge to the 2008 order on the ground of acquittal in criminal cases would not be maintainable.
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