Bengaluru, Mar 4: The Karnataka High Court has issued a notice to the state government in connection with the denial of retirement benefits to a retired deputy commissioner of commercial taxes who had fought against the illegal iron ore lobby.
Justice G Narendra also directed the state to respond to the notice before March 9, stating the reasons for withholding the officer’s retirement benefits.
Advocate Ramananda, appearing for the retired officer Josephat Andrews, explained that the single-judge bench also warned the government of stringent action.
Petitioner Josephat Andrews said his retirement benefits amounting to Rs 25.88 lakh were being withheld since 2014.
In 2009, Andrews detected a huge scam involving Vijaya Leasing, a company associated with former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy. Immediately he wrote to his higher officials explaining to them how the department was owed Rs 1,400 crore in taxes by the company. Immediately after that, Andrews was transferred to Bengaluru.
The media exposed the scam in 2012. Thereafter, to harass the officer, Andrews was served notice for allegedly not conducting an inspection of M/s Vijaya Leasing, which was controlled by the family of then tourism minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, on July 11, 2012. He was discharged by a full departmental enquiry.
The petitioner was issued a second show cause notice on Jan 29, 2014 on the same charges. Before his retirement, he was docked two increments, denied promotional benefits and his pension was reduced without following due process.
He was served yet another notice with charges that he did not inspect goods vehicles, and an order was passed on April 30, 2019 reducing his pension by 5 per cent, an unprecedented punitive action.
This order was quashed by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT), which also ordered payment of retirement benefits to Andrews within five months. However, the benefits were not released to him.
“Rule 214 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules (KCSR) make it clear that no enquiry can be held four years after an officer’s retirement. Belying all statutory rules and precedents of the Supreme Court, Josephat Andrews’ retirement benefits were withheld for five years. Andrews therefore approached the High Court,” advocate Ramananda explained.
Josephat Andrews recalled to Deccan Chronicle that although mining activity was in full swing in 2008, the commercial tax department maintained that it had nothing to do with mining. “I travelled to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bellary to investigate. I found tax evasion of thousands of crores. When I visited M/s the Vijaya Leasing facility – it was operating from an old oil mill premises–within 20 minutes I got calls from Ali, a person claiming to be the personal assistant of Gali Janardhan Reddy. He told me to get out of the premises as it belonged to his boss. Then calls came from minister Sreeramulu and MLA Nagendra.
Within minutes 200-300 rowdies gathered around the building and my superior asked me to come back. Instead of filing a police complaint and forming a special team to deal with the situation, the department transferred me to Bengaluru,” he explained.
Talking about the High Court directive, Josephat Andrews said, “I have suffered a lot. Instead of getting a reward for increasing revenues by Rs 2,000 crore, I was punished.”
Comments
Ananth Kumar uncultured, absolutely unfit as a politician.
This man is the worst crazy type of person as peoples rep.
You can imagine if a MP is behaving like this, what could be the credentials of his party and those who elected him.
He is so stupid, he does not have brain to think, that
To follow any religion, is required who is his father or mother.
Our constitution fully empowers every citizen to follow the religion of their choice, propagate it
also.
No religion refuses anyone from following their choice of religion.
Is Rajeev Gandhi Muslim.
This so called MP does not know also, Rajeev Gandhi’s father Firoz Gandhi was a Farsi man.
I hope Rajeev Gandhi is Muslim, but we know he is not.
Becoming Muslim is it sin. Muslim means person who submits to the will of his creator the God.
I can prove that Hege’s ancestor Father was Muslim. Our first father Adam was Muslim, biologically all were Muslims. Again Muslim means person who obeys or submits to his creator.
But later as they grow, they inherited their parents or chose to remain their parents religion.
Is it sin. This is what requ
This man is the worst crazy type of person as peoples rep.
You can imagine if a MP is behaving like this, what could be the credentials of his party and those who elected him.
He is so stupid, he does not have brain to think, that
To follow any religion, is required who is his father or mother.
Our constitution fully empowers every citizen to follow the religion of their choice, propagate it
also.
No religion refuses anyone from following their choice of religion.
Is Rajeev Gandhi Muslim.
This so called MP does not know also, Rajeev Gandhi’s father Firoz Gandhi was a Farsi man.
I hope Rajeev Gandhi is Muslim, but we know he is not.
Becoming Muslim is it sin. Muslim means person who submits to the will of his creator the God.
I can prove that Hege’s ancestor Father was Muslim. Our first father Adam was Muslim, biologically all were Muslims. Again Muslim means person who obeys or submits to his creator.
But later as they grow, they inherited their parents or chose to remain their parents religion.
Is it sin. This is what required a person to be loyal to his creator and obey his creator.
May God give wisdom to this man and save his followers.
ired a person to be loyal to his creator and obey his creator.
May God give wisdom to this man and save his followers.
This person is mentally sick and does not know about parents of Rahul Gandhi. He thinks everyone like him who has no trace of his own parents. This Gowda has no trace from where he came. He should be kicked out to andaman to live with monkeys, apes etc.
this man have more more hatrate to mulsim community..
after 2019 they will make you to count your sin did in past..
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