Srinagar, Oct 14: A bench comprising Judicial Member, M S Latif and Administrative Member, Prasant Kumar in Central Administrative Tribunal while hearing a plea by Dr Reyaz Ahmad Untoo, former Principal and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, who has had retired on January 31, 2021 has quashed an order seeking recovery of Rs 8.89 lakh from a retired SKIMS doctor towards an alleged excess payment of leave salary, holding that the action was taken in violation of natural justice and without any finding of fraud or misrepresentation.
The authorities had proposed recovery of Rs 8,89,846 from his retiral benefits on the ground that he had been paid leave salary for 300 days, whereas a revised leave account showed that he was entitled to only 166 days.
Dr Untoo had petitioned the Tribunal through his counsel Faizan Majid Bhat.
The Tribunal noted that the authorities had neither initiated any formal proceedings nor issued notice to Untoo before passing the recovery order and no finding of fraud or misrepresentation had been recorded against him. Due process of law had not been followed while passing the impugned order, the Tribunal held, adding that the absence of any finding of fraud or misrepresentation rendered the order legally unsustainable.
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