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Hyderabad: Granting relief to an 80-year-old retired assistant civil surgeon, the Telangana High Court recently ordered the State Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare to resolve the doctor's representation over pensionary benefits within a strict eight-week deadline.Filing the plea, the petitioner doctor, Dr. Kumar, had sought the court's intervention to strike down the State Government's punitive action, which included withholding gratuity and imposing a 100 per cent pension cut in 2008, two years after his retirement. The State had issued this order even though the doctor had been acquitted in an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) case.For the last 17 years, the doctor had been fighting for his rights to pensionary benefits. He also sought the court's intervention to compel the Telangana Government to pay all withheld retirement benefits immediately, with interest.Also Read: Upset over delay in Late Husband's pension disbursement, Punjab doctor allegedly commits suicideAs per the latest media report by the Indian Express, the petitioner retired as an assistant civil surgeon on November 30, 2006, and he was facing a criminal case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2001. He was initially convicted by a trial court on May 2, 2007, and based on this conviction, the Telangana Government issued the 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.In his plea, the doctor sought a Writ of Mandamus to set aside the concerned GO issued in 2008 and a direction to the State Government authorities 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.The counsel for the petitioner, Deepak Mishra, argued that the Telangana High Court, in a judgment dated July 22, 2024, acquitted him of all charges. It was categorically held by the HC bench that the prosecution had failed to prove the demand and acceptance of the alleged bribe.However, the petitioner alleged that despite the judicial acquittal clearing his name, the department continued to act upon the decade-old GO, arbitrarily withholding his final retirement benefits, leading to severe financial distress.Also Read: Telangana HC grants interim relief, allows student as local candidate for MBBS admission
