Judges block medical reimbursements of senior officers until pending dues are cleared
TNR News Network
SHIMLA: In a stern move to curb delays, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken action against senior government officers for failing to clear a retired employee’s medical reimbursement dues for nearly nine years.
Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua passed an order halting the medical reimbursement of four key officials — the Secretary (Education), Director of Higher Education, Mandi Deputy Director and the Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Tikri Sadwani — until they clear the pending bills of the petitioner, Dev Sharma.
Despite repeated court instructions, the authorities failed to act on a reimbursement claim submitted by Sharma in 2016 amounting to Rs 1.52 lakh. Even after his retirement in 2022, the dues remained unpaid, prompting him to seek judicial intervention.
Sanctions come as high court’s previous orders ignored
Earlier hearings had seen the court instruct the department to settle the payment within 10 days. During the September 2 session, the Additional Advocate General had assured that payment would be made within five days.
However, by the next hearing on September 8, the petitioner had still not received the amount. The high court expressed sharp displeasure and ordered that no medical reimbursement be made to the involved officials until Sharma’s claim is settled.
Justice Dua directed the Additional Advocate General to communicate this order to the officials concerned without delay. The case will now be taken up for further hearing on Friday.
