MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the State government to reinstate a temporary staff nurse who was terminated from service on charges of ‘dereliction of duty’ while assisting a delivery which allegedly resulted in the patient’s death at a government PHC in Tirunelveli in 2009.
Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order on the petition filed by the nurse T Blessie by observing that the inquiry was not conducted in a proper manner and was ‘discriminative’ in nature.
The judge observed, “When an employee has denied the charges by way of explanation, the authorities have no other alternative, except to conduct a detailed inquiry and give sufficient opportunity to the employee.”
The said procedure also applies to part-time employees like the petitioner, she added.
Noting that the nurse had only acted at the instructions of the duty doctor and the doctor is still in service, the judge opined the nurse has been made a scapegoat in the matter.