HC quashes DC's instructions
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 06 2016:
The High Court of Manipur has quashed the conditions and restrictions imposed by the Senapati Deputy Commissioner with regard to disbursement and payment of monthly salary and allowances of doctors.
A few years back, Senapati DC orally instructed the Senapati Chief Medical Officer who happens to be the Distributing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) that medical officers should get monthly attendance certificates from village chiefs/chairmen of the area where they are posted certifying their attendance.
The attendance certificates issued by village chiefs/chairmen should be countersigned by SDOs/BDOs concerned.
The DC would countersign the monthly pay bills only on submission of the attendance certificates, according to the instructions issued by Jacintha Lazarus.
But medical officers found the conditions and instructions difficult to abide by and these restrictions turned out to be restrictive and demoralizing apart from creating untold miseries to medical officers.
As the pleas of the medical officers remained unheeded, they approached the High Court of Manipur praying for quashing such unauthorised oral conditions and restrictions and also for payment of their monthly salary and allowances unhindered and regularly.
The High Court of Manipur after hearing the petitioners' counsel as well as the State Government counsel issued an order on September 29 stating that the conditions and restrictions imposed by the DC were illegal.
It further that the Chief Medical Officer or the Treasury Officer need not adhere to such restrictions and conditions.