Telangana HC orders relief for 80-year-old doctor, ends 17-year battle for full pension benefits

Dr M Suresh Kumar had sought the Telangana High Court’s intervention in striking down the government order that withheld gratuity and imposed a 100 per cent pension cut in 2008, two years after his retirement.

The octogenarian doctor sought a Writ of Mandamus to set aside the 2008 GO and a direction to the respondents to release his full pension. (File Photo)

The Telangana High Court Friday ordered the state Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare to dispose of the representation of an 80-year-old retired assistant civil surgeon within a strict eight-week deadline, resolving a 17-year-long battle for pensionary benefits.

The petitioner, Dr M Suresh Kumar, had sought the court’s intervention in striking down the government’s punitive action, which included withholding gratuity and imposing a 100 per cent pension cut in 2008, two years after his retirement, despite his acquittal in an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) case. Dr Kumar also sought the court’s intervention to compel the Telangana Government to pay all withheld retirement benefits immediately, with interest.

In his ruling, Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao directed the petitioner to submit a fresh representation to the department within two weeks from the date of the order. The court imposed a mandatory timeline for the respondents, including the principal secretary of the Health, Medical, and Family Welfare Department, and others, to dispose of the representation within eight weeks thereafter.

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According to the petitioner, who retired as an assistant civil surgeon on November 30, 2006, he faced a criminal case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2001. He was initially convicted by a trial court on May 2, 2007. Based solely on this conviction, the Telangana Government issued GO Rt 142 on February 4, 2008, imposing a severe punishment of a 100 per cent cut in pension and permanent withholding of his gratuity amount of Rs 1,35,788.

The petitioner, through his counsel Deepak Mishra, contended that the Telangana High Court, in a judgment dated July 22, 2024, acquitted him of all charges. The High Court categorically held that the prosecution had failed to prove the demand and acceptance of the alleged bribe.

Despite the judicial acquittal clearing his name, the petitioner maintained that the department continued to act upon the decade-old GO, arbitrarily withholding his final retirement benefits, leading to severe financial distress.

In his petition, the octogenarian doctor sought a Writ of Mandamus to set aside the 2008 GO and a direction to the respondents to release his full pension, including arrears from December 1, 2006, along with the gratuity amount and restoration of other post-retirement entitlements, such as medical reimbursement.

Rahul V Pisharody

Rahul V Pisharody is Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting for IE on various news developments from Telangana since 2019. He is currently reporting on legal matters from the Telangana High Court. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of city reporters, district correspondents, other centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. ... Read More