SC orders withdrawal of suspension IRS officer after 13 years

New Delhi: Thirteen years after his suspension, the Supreme Court has ordered withdrawal of the disciplinary action against suspended Indian Revenue Service officer Ashok Kumar Aggarwal.

A bench headed by Justice B S Chauhan dismissed an appeal filed by the Centre challenging the Delhi High Court’s order which had on September 17 last year revoked the government’s suspension order. It agreed with the contention of senior advocate Ram Jethmalani who, appearing for Agrawal, had contented the suspension order was illegal and malafide.

Earlier, the High Court had upheld the CAT’s order to revoke Enforcement Directorate's former Deputy Director Aggarwal's suspension, dismissing the Centre's appeal against it and saying “the test to probity of a civil servant must not become a test to his patience.”

The Tribunal had on July 1 last year, while ordering revocation of Aggarwal’s suspension, said the 1985 batch officer, who is facing cases of disproportionate assets, cannot be kept on suspension “endlessly”.

Aggarwal was suspended in 1999 and the CAT had first quashed his suspension in 2003 but the Department had in April 2003 suspended him again and it was set aside by the CAT in July this year.

The CAT had ordered revocation of Aggarwal’s suspension, saying the Ministry had not complied with its December 16, 2011 order to convene a review committee meeting to decide if his suspension should be revoked.