THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU WRIT PETITION No.10063 of 2006 ORDER: According to the petitioner, he joined the services of the respondent Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Limited on 17.05.1968. Subsequently, he was promoted as Senior Assistant and further promoted as Junior Manager. While he was working as a Junior Manager, in the year 2002, on the allegation that on the basis of a wrong note drafted by him for sanction of Rs.10,00,000/- in favour of N.Prem Kumar, Manager, M.C.C., Wanaparthy, which let in misappropriation of the said amount by the said Prem Kumar and the other officials, he was issued with a charge sheet and, after conducting enquiry, he was ultimately imposed the punishment of reversion from the post of Junior Manager to Senior Assistant, besides ordering recovery of an amount of Rs.2,50,000/- from him, by proceedings dated 05.05.2006 of the 1st respondent. Aggrieved thereby, the present writ petition is filed. The respondents filed counter-affidavit, denying the allegations made by the petitioner and supporting the impugned proceedings. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner has no role in the alleged misappropriation and that the petitioner only processed the file for sanction of Rs.10,00,000/- as per the Head office proceedings dated 06.08.2001 and thereafter the Deputy Director accorded sanction, therefore, initiating enquiry and imposing the punishment of reversion on the petitioner and also ordering for recovery of an amount of Rs.2,50,000/- from the petitioner is unwarranted. He further submits that subsequent to the petitioner processing the file for sanction of Rs.10,00,000/-, the higher officers sanctioned the said amount in favour of the said N.Prem Kumar, but unfortunately, no action has been taken against those higher officers who sanctioned the said amount. He further submits that during pendency of the writ petition, the petitioner attained the age of superannuation and retired on 30.06.2006, but till date his pensionary benefits are not paid on the ground that there is an amount of Rs.2,50,000/- to be recovered from him. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents submits that the petitioner, having processed the file, is responsible for the misappropriation of funds of the respondent company. He further submits that so far as the Deputy Director, who accorded sanction, is concerned, he is no more, and that the said Prem Kumar, in whose name amount was sanctioned, was dismissed from service. The facts are not much in dispute. As can be seen from the record, the petitioner processed the file for sanction of Rs.10,00,000/- in favour of N. Prem Kumar, in the capacity of Manager, M.C.C., Wanaparthy, but not in his personal capacity. According to the petitioner, he only processed the file and it is the Deputy Director who sanctioned the amount. Generally speaking, the power to sanction such a huge amount of Rs.10,00,000/- is not conferred on the employee working in the rank of Junior Manager. Thus, I am of the considered opinion that the respondents, while reverting him to the post of Senior Assistant, ought not to have imposed the punishment of recovery of Rs.2,50,000/- from the petitioner, who was concerned only with the process of file, and ordering such recovery is shockingly disproportionate to that of the misconduct alleged against him. Even otherwise, out of Rs.10,00,000/- said to have been misappropriated, an amount of Rs.9,45,000/- is already said to have been recovered. In the circumstances, the writ petition is allowed in part, setting aside the impugned order to the extent of the punishment of recovery of Rs.2,50,000/- from the petitioner alone, while upholding the punishment of reversion to the next lower post. Further, the respondents are directed to settle the retirement benefits of the petitioner and pay the same within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No order as to costs. _____________ C.V.RAMULU,J 08.02.2011 v v