4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Sep 22, 2026 11:04 AM IST
A poem about the “Tis Hazari Courts” in Delhi found an unlikely place in a Telangana High Court judgment recently, in a case involving a 73-year-old National Insurance Company employee who had spent nearly as many years out of service as he had worked.
Quoting University of Hyderabad professor Shiv K Kumar as saying, “It’s the long wait that kills / the lover, the cancer-patient / and the petitioner”, Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka said the lines were “strikingly coincidental” to the plight of the employee, who had been removed from service in 2002 after about 24 years of service and had spent the next 24 years fighting the action.
The court modified his punishment from removal from service to compulsory retirement and directed the insurer to release his consequential pension, gratuity, provident fund and other retirement benefits.
“It is now 24 years since he (employee) was removed from service, after having rendered 24 years of service. It appears that this is a classic case where a person finds himself at a crossroads, literally, considering the period served and the period spent out of service,” the September 15 order read.
Acquitted of criminal charges in 2009
The man had joined National Insurance Company Limited in 1978. In 2001, he was issued a charge memo alleging irregularities in the processing and settlement of insurance claims, following which a departmental inquiry was conducted. Later, the disciplinary authority removed him from service in May 2002. His departmental appeal was also rejected. Aggrieved, he moved the High Court.
During the pendency of his challenge before the court, the CBI also initiated criminal proceedings against him in 2004 over substantially the same transactions. After the conclusion of the trial, the criminal court acquitted him of all the charges in March 2009.
Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka described the case as a “classic case” of a person finding himself at a “crossroads”.
The employee was represented by advocate K Udaya Sri, while the insurance company appeared through senior advocate Vedula Srinivas.
Story continues below this ad
‘Acquittal cannot be treated as irrelevant’
The court described the case as a “classic case” of a person finding himself at a “crossroads”, considering the period served and the period spent out of service.
It noted that the criminal proceedings involved substantially the same allegations that formed the basis of the departmental action. It noted that the criminal court had found that allegations relating to fraudulent claims, non-existent hospitals, criminal conspiracy, misuse of official position and alleged financial loss to the company were not proved.
“Therefore, in the circumstances of the present case, the acquittal cannot be treated as an irrelevant or inconsequential circumstance,” it added.
It said the departmental appellate authority had failed to adequately consider the employee’s acquittal while reconsidering his case.
Story continues below this ad
The court further held that, considering his approximately 24 years of service and the fact that the major allegations had remained unproved in the criminal case, the punishment of removal from service was “unduly harsh, disproportionate and excessive.”
Noting that the employee was around 73 years old and suffering from a terminal medical illness, the court directed the National Insurance Company to release his consequential pension and retirement benefits, gratuity, provident fund and other dues within six weeks of receiving the order.
Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka described the case as a “classic case” of a person finding himself at a “crossroads”.