BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has reversed the reinstatement of a village accountant who was removed from his position due to bribery allegations. This decision stemmed from the state administrative tribunal’s earlier ruling, which had distinguished between an “honourable acquittal and one secured on benefit of doubt.”
The High Court determined that the tribunal incorrectly considered the acquittal in the criminal case as significant. The court emphasized that the burden of proof regarding misconduct lies with the employer in departmental proceedings. Shivanagouda Vasanad was compelled to retire after an internal inquiry confirmed the allegations against him, specifically stemming from an incident in November 2011, when he accepted ₹2,500 for processing a mutation entry in Bagalkot district.
While Vasanad was acquitted in May 2021 by a special court, he approached the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, which, in April 2023, rescinded his compulsory retirement. However, the government subsequently appealed to the High Court, asserting that the tribunal’s reliance on the acquittal—deemed not honourable—was inappropriate, given that the departmental inquiry had upheld the misconduct charges.
