THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.26149 OF 2008 DATED 27TH JULY, 2011 BETWEEN Sk.Ahmad Basha …Petitioner And The Joint Commissioner, Rural Development Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad and others. …Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.26149 OF 2008 ORDER: The petitioner, a Field Assistant of Perumallapadu Village, Chejerla Mandal, Nellore District, challenges the social audit notice dated 12.11.2008 issued by the Mandal Parishad Development Officer, Chejerla Mandal, Nellore District. Sri Ch.C.Krishna Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, states that the matter is squarely covered by the adjudication of the very same issue by this Court in Writ Petition No.27181 of 2008. A copy of the order dated 22.10.2010 passed in W.P.No.27181 of 2008 is produced which indicates that a social audit notice bearing the same date, viz. 12.11.2008, issued by the Mandal Parishad Development Officer, Chejerla Mandal, Nellore District, to one K.Prasad, another Field Assistant, was set aside by this Court following the earlier Judgment dated 07.07.2010 in Writ Petition No.14121 of 2009 and batch. The directions of this Court in the Judgment dated 07.07.2010 in the context of conducting disciplinary proceedings against Field Assistants/Technical Assistants would therefore apply to the present case also. The Writ Petition is accordingly allowed setting aside the impugned social audit notice dated 12.11.2008 with the same directions as were issued in Writ Petition No.14121 of 2009 and batch. The directions are extracted hereunder: “Under those circumstances, following directions are laid for the purpose of conducting disciplinary proceedings against Field Assistants/Technical Assistants: 1) The competent disciplinary authority shall follow strictly the guidelines laid down in Circular No.143/SRDS/HR Manual/2009 dated 27.1.2010 and the Ruled laid down vide G.O.Ms.98 Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (RD.II) Department dated 9.3.2010, for the purpose of conducting enquiry, social audit etc. 2) If a report of the Gram Panchayat is received by the disciplinary authority, a copy of the same shall be furnished to the delinquent Field Assistant/Technical Assistant and if any witnesses are mentioned therein, they shall be examined in the presence of such Field Assistant/Technical Assistant and they shall be permitted to cross-examine such witnesses. 3) If action is based is on a social audit, majority members of the Gram Panchayat and the delinquent Field Assistant/Technical Assistant must be invited to the Gram Sabha and, in their presence, Gram Sabha should be conducted. 4) Any objections raised by the delinquent may be recorded by the Social Audit team and, if action is based on MPDOs’ own inspection/verification and the inspection by any other functionaries like Assistant P.D. Etc., the Inspection Report showing allegations against the delinquent shall be furnished to the delinquent Field Assistant/Technical Assistant and the delinquent should be allowed to file his/her objections, if any, and after filing the objections, the authorities are at liberty to take appropriate decision, as per law, and pass further orders, after giving show-cause notice and personal hearing in the matter. 5) The entire procedure must be completed within a period of 30 days as contemplated under the guidelines from the date of issuing initial show-cause notice, enumerating the charges. In case of suspension of an employee, he/she is entitled for subsistence allowance only for thirty days and if there is any delay occurred in conducting the enquiry, it may be extended for another one month, but, in any case, the enquiry cannot be extended beyond the period of two months. 6) In any case if it is found that the delinquent has committed misappropriation, it is always open for the authorities, after passing the final orders, to recover the same, as per law. 7) In all the cases where recovery is contemplated, a fresh enquiry shall be conducted and completed, as per the directions of this Court, as above, within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If any separate recovery proceedings are issued in pursuance of the impugned proceedings herein, they shall stand stayed during pendency of the fresh enquiry. It is unfortunate that allegations of high corruption like Rs.20.00 lakhs and Rs.30.00 lakhs are made against the Field Assistants/Technical Assistants, who are working under the MPDOs and other higher officers and supposed to only assist such Officers and not to deal with any monetary matters directly. It appears, there is no proper supervision by the higher officials and such serious matters are entrusted to the persons who are appointed on meager salary and on contract basis and they are allowed to indulge in misappropriation of funds meant for the rural poor under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, in large-scale. The concerned District Collectors are directed to look into this matter personally and instruct the Officers concerned not to allow the Field Assistants/Technical Assistants etc., to deal with the money distribution etc. directly. If there is any misappropriation of money, the Officers concerned must be made responsible.” In the circumstances, no order as to costs. ____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J. 27TH JULY, 2011. VGSR