MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court reduced the punishment imposed on a forest guard for failing to inform his authorities about the presence of an elephant skull in Vannathiparai reserved forest, stating that there cannot be discrimination in imposing punishment to officers of the same rank for the same offence. The incident pertaining to the case took place in April 2015.
In his petition, forest guard G Sajendran said that the forest department had initially directed him to take compulsory retirement after he failed to inform higher officials about the presence of an elephant skull in Vannathiparai.
However, the punishment, which was imposed by the conservator of the forest (Tirunelveli circle), was later modified by the principal chief conservator as stoppage of increment for three years with cumulative effect.
Though the petitioner filed a revision before the principal secretary of the environment and forest departments, they confirmed the modified punishment and refused to quash it. Following this, Sajendran moved the high court challenging the principal secretary’s order.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that Sajendran, along with three other officials, were charged for the incident, and disciplinary proceedings were initiated against all of them.
However, the other officers were awarded a lesser punishment than that of the petitioner.
Hearing the submissions, Justice Abdul Quddhose said that the petitioner had been employed as a forest guard at the Kaliyal beat on the date of the alleged incident, and was only deputed to the Vannathiparai beat by his higher officials. Two of the three officials were higher in rank than the petitioner, while the remaining third official was of the same rank as that of him. However, the same rank official was given a lesser punishment — stoppage of increment for a period of one year with cumulative effect, observed the court.
The court further said that there should not be any discrimination between the punishment imposed, and added that the impugned order of the authorities proved that all four of the officers were guilty. Accordingly, the court reduced the punishment imposed on the petitioner from the stoppage of increment for a period of three years with cumulative effect to the stoppage of increment for a period of one year with cumulative effect.