V M Lal to be reinstated according to his rank: HC

Mumbai, July 24 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed Maharashtra government to reinstate V M Lal, a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, to his rank by August one, after he has agreed to undergo departmental inquiry for alleged corruption charges.

Earlier, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had given him a clean chit, which was challenged by the state government.

On February 22, CAT had quashed Lal's transfer to Mafco, a sick state government undertaking, on the verge of closure.

Lal had been implicated in a preliminary government inquiry on charges of having caused loss of Rs 347 crore to City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, when he was its Managing Director, by wrongful allotment of land.

He was then transferred from the third Maharashtra Finance Commission where he was posted after his Cidco tenure, to Mafco.

He opposed the transfer in CAT primarily on the grounds that a senior officer like him could not be posted at Mafco and moved out of the Commission without completing his fixed tenure of a year.

A division bench comprising Justices F I Rebeillo and V K Tahilramani directed Lal to file an application within 15 days for his pending salary for four and half months, on which the government would take expeditous decision.

Meanwhile, the government has initiated the process of a departmental inquiry against him by issuing a chargesheet. Lal fought this matter as well before CAT.

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