Almost 14 years after the Central government suspended Indian Revenue Service officer Ashok

Kumar Aggarwal, the Supreme Court has ordered his reinstatement and the withdrawal of all

disciplinary actions against him.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice BS Chauhan, dismissed the Centre’s appeal challenging

the September 17, 2012 Delhi High Court order that quashed the order to suspend Aggarwal. The

high court had upheld the June 1, 2012 order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal revoking

his suspension.

The 1985-batch IRS officer was suspended on December 28, 1999 after the CBI registered two cases

against him - one for allegedly framing businessman Subhash Bharjatya in a FERA violation case and

the other for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The Central

Administrative Tribunal had first set aside his suspension order in 2003.

“The orders passed by the appellants (Centre) had been in contravention of not only the order of the

court but also of the office memorandum and statutory rules,” the SC said rejecting the Centre’s

appeal against the HC order.

It expressed surprise over the government’s refusal to reinstate the former deputy director of

Enforcement Directorate despite orders passed in his favour by the Central Administrative Tribunal

and Delhi High Court.

The SC also asked the Delhi HC to decide afresh his contempt plea against former city police

commissioner Neeraj Kumar and others for allegedly levelling false charges against him, which

resulted in him spending 36 days in jail.

“We are of the opinion that as both parties had raised issues on facts as well as on law, the high

court ought to have dealt with the case adverting to all relevant issues, particularly when the

appellant (Aggarwal) had made an allegation that his liberty had been jeopardised by the

respondents who interfered with the course of justice by misleading the court,” the SC said.

The Apex Court also dismissed the CBI’s plea for grant of pardon to controversial arms dealer

Abhishek Verma in a criminal case in which he is facing charges, along with Aggarwal, of forgery to

frame Bharjatya. The Supreme Court upheld a Delhi High Court order quashing the trial court’s

direction on granting pardon to Verma in the 1998 case.http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-

news/sc-orders-reinstatement-of-suspended-officer-after-14-years/article1-1158031.aspx