Day after HC set aside suspension, Superintending Engineer suspended again

A day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside the suspension of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd (DHBVNL) Superintending Engineer (SE) Hari Dutt, he has been placed under suspension again.

"Er Hari Dutt, SE/OP Circle, DHBVNL, Jind, is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect in view of contemplated disciplinary proceedings against him under Regulation-7 of DHBVNL Employees (Punishment and Appeal) Regulations-2019 for imposition of major penalty on account of his non-performance and lack of supervision as SE/OP Circle, DHBVNL, Jind", states the order issued by the Managing Director (MD) of DHBVNL on Wednesday.

The MD has maintained that the above order is issued in terms of the liberty granted by the court in its decision dated April 22, 2025.

Dutt, who was suspended last week, had challenged his suspension before the court. His counsel told the court that as per news reports, the petitioner was suspended because he did not attend to the phone call of the Power Minister on April 16.

The court had set aside the suspension order, terming it "non-speaking, non-reasoned and mechanical". It, however, stated that the respondent (state of Haryana) was at liberty to pass fresh order in accordance with law.

Courts must understand, says Dhanda

Haryana Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda, on whose complaint the SE was said to have been suspended, said, "The courts should also understand a bit. It is not that we are giving them 'gyaan', but there has to be complete information of facts," he said during his visit to Rohtak on Wednesday. He said the practice of committing a mistake and then approaching the courts won't go on for too long.