MM Dhonchak moves CAT over his suspension

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, March 16

Presiding Officer of Debts Recovery Tribunal-II MM Dhonchak has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the Union of India challenging the “illegal and arbitrary action” of placing his services under suspension.

Dhonchak contended that there was no reason whatsoever, except to play to the gallery with a view to please the advocates who had boycotted the tribunal presided over by him and “then expecting him to become a party to the boycott by condoning their contemptuous abstention-an expectation which could not be met by any Judge worth his salt”.

What a way to reward the law breakers, Dhonchak asserted in his plea. He submitted that the impugned order was the byproduct of the ulterior motives with a view to satisfy the “swollen ego” of the DRT Bar Association, Chandigarh.

He also described as strange that an inquiry was ordered against him even without inviting reply to chargesheet issued to him. “It is a case of carrying coals to the Newcastle. It is incomprehensible as to how new service jurisprudence can be written where a regular inquiry can be ordered even without chargesheeting an officer,” he argued.

Dhonchak added that the respondent was apparently aware of the fact that he was not in the wrong. If his version was sought at the appropriate juncture, it would not be possible to order inquiry against him with the view to show the door to him. As such, the respondent would have to cut a sorry figure.

“Being afraid of the people who were baying for the blood of the applicant, necessity became the mother of invention and thus, came into being the naked dance of the grossest abuse of power of writing the piece of abominable service jurisprudence of appointing the inquiry officer sans chargesheet and its reply. It is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse with the avowed object of getting rid of the applicant,” he added.

Dhonchak added that service jurisprudence did not permit selective disciplinary action. If charge of slowing down the recovery process, as levelled against him, was to hold the field, “many heads will roll because the record would bear that the pace of recovery in all other DRTs is slower than that of the DRT presided over by him”.