The Bombay High Court recently quashed an order passed by the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) initiating a departmental inquiry against a clerk who had completed 21 years of service. The MBMC had issued a show cause notice to the employee as he was only 17 years and 10 months old when he had joined work in 1998.
Dinesh Kangude was born on July 2, 1980, and being a project-affected person, he was entitled for a job based on reservation. On August 7, 1997, he applied for the post of a clerk at MBMC. Mr. Kangude was appointed on April 21, 1998, and he joined work on May 2, 1998.
Later, the MBMC council found that his service book mentioned his birth date as July 2, 1980. A departmental inquiry was initiated against Mr. Kangude after one Rajiv Deshpande filed a complaint against him. The sole charge was that he did not meet the minimum age requirement of 18 years at the time of his appointment.
In the enquiry, the charge against Mr. Kangude was proved and the MBMC issued a show cause notice to him dated November 14, 2019, seeking an explanation why he should not be terminated from service.
Advocate N.V. Bandiwadekar, appearing for Mr. Kangude, said his client at the time of his appointment had furnished all his documents for perusal.
Mr. Bandiwadekar said, “He did not suppress anything at the time of his appointment to the post of clerk.” He also pointed out that Mr. Kangude had completed nearly 21 years in service.
A Division Bench of Justices Ranjit More and M.S. Karnik noted that the petitioner was just two months short of attaining the age of majority.
The Bench said, “In our opinion, it would be very harsh to terminate his services on that count. We are inclined to allow the petition as we find that there is no fault on the part of Mr. Kangude in as much as at the time of appointment he submitted all the documents, including School Leaving Certificate. Though he was appointed when he was minor, he cannot be held responsible for this.”
The court quashed the order passed by the municipal commissioner and directed the MBMC to provide monetary benefits to Mr. Kangude for his services from May 2, 1998 to July 1, 1988.
