Govt. staff bound to recover loss to exchequer, says HC
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI, June 28, 2018 00:00 IST
Failure to do so will lead to prosecution, warns judge
Government officials are duty-bound to recover any loss caused to the public exchequer from the erring individual and failure to make such recoveries would amount to “misconduct” warranting “prosecution” on charges of negligence and dereliction of duty, the Madras High Court has said.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam made the observation while disposing of a writ petition filed by K. Balachandran, vice chairman of Panamarathupatti Town Panchayat in Salem district seeking a direction to the government to recover from its Executive Officer a loss of Rs. 33.53 lakh caused to the local body.
After directing the State government to initiate appropriate action for recovering the entire financial loss, the judge said: “In the event of any financial loss to the State exchequer or to the town panchayat, the competent officials must recover the same from the persons concerned without delay.
“In the event of not effecting recovery by such officials, the State shall initiate appropriate action against the superior officials and recover the same from their salary. Not protecting the funds of the State exchequer is also misconduct and higher officials failing to initiate appropriate action for recovery... are certainly liable for prosecution,” the judge said.
He went on to add that the funds of the tax payers must be utilised for public purposes. Therefore, the government officials were accountable not only to the State but also to the public.
Wondering why no action had been initiated in the present case as claimed by the petitioner’s counsel K. Selvaraj, the judge said: “It is the attitude of the officials that if it is inconvenient for them, they do not initiate any action, and only in convenient cases, they initiate urgent action. Such attitude of selective amnesia is to be avoided, more specifically, in public services.”
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI, June 28, 2018 00:00 IST
Failure to do so will lead to prosecution, warns judge
Government officials are duty-bound to recover any loss caused to the public exchequer from the erring individual and failure to make such recoveries would amount to “misconduct” warranting “prosecution” on charges of negligence and dereliction of duty, the Madras High Court has said.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam made the observation while disposing of a writ petition filed by K. Balachandran, vice chairman of Panamarathupatti Town Panchayat in Salem district seeking a direction to the government to recover from its Executive Officer a loss of Rs. 33.53 lakh caused to the local body.
After directing the State government to initiate appropriate action for recovering the entire financial loss, the judge said: “In the event of any financial loss to the State exchequer or to the town panchayat, the competent officials must recover the same from the persons concerned without delay.
“In the event of not effecting recovery by such officials, the State shall initiate appropriate action against the superior officials and recover the same from their salary. Not protecting the funds of the State exchequer is also misconduct and higher officials failing to initiate appropriate action for recovery... are certainly liable for prosecution,” the judge said.
He went on to add that the funds of the tax payers must be utilised for public purposes. Therefore, the government officials were accountable not only to the State but also to the public.
Wondering why no action had been initiated in the present case as claimed by the petitioner’s counsel K. Selvaraj, the judge said: “It is the attitude of the officials that if it is inconvenient for them, they do not initiate any action, and only in convenient cases, they initiate urgent action. Such attitude of selective amnesia is to be avoided, more specifically, in public services.”
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