MADURAI: Shocked to know that a state government official convicted in a corruption case was allowed to continue in service without proper action, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court directed the chief secretary and vigilance commissioner to submit a report containing the list of all convicted public servants in the state’s employment and the action taken against them, within a month.
Justice KK Ramakrishnan gave the direction recently while dismissing a petition filed by an assistant executive engineer of Thoothukudi rural development department, J Amala Jessi Jacquillin, against denial of promotion to her, despite the fact that she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case in 2024. He also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on Jacquillin and directed her to pay the amount to Sethupathi Government Higher Secondary School, Tiruchuli.
Jacquillin joined government service as an assistant engineer in 1998 and was later promoted as assistant executive engineer.
The vigilance department had registered a case against her 10 years ago on charges that she had accumulated disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 25,40,972 in her and her husband’s name between December 1999 and March 2009. A charge memo was also issued against her in 2020.
Meanwhile, the vigilance case ended in conviction on December 6, 2024 and she was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment, but her sentence was suspended by the court. She also has another charge memo pending against her.
However, Jacquillin claimed in her petition that she became eligible for promotion on October 6, 2012, and as all the criminal cases and charge memos came subsequent to this date, she is entitled to be promoted to the post of executive engineer.
Justice Ramakrishnan referred to Rule 17(c)(i)(1) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, which states that an employee who is convicted by the competent court of law shall be dismissed from service without any further inquiry.
Thus, the petitioner has no right to continue her employment let alone get promoted, he added.
“Allowing the convicted public servant to continue in the government service is not only deplorable and it shows apathy on the part of the state government,” the judge observed and passed the above order. The matter has been posted for reporting compliance on July 18.