Court rules that pending investigation without formal charges is insufficient to withhold benefits and salary.
In a significant judgment, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, presided over by Justice Sanjay Dhar, has ordered the release of withheld retiral benefits and unpaid salary of Vikar Mustafa Shonthu, a former General Manager of J&K Projects Construction Corporation Ltd. The court's decision emphasized that merely pending investigations, without judicial or departmental determination of losses caused by the employee, do not justify withholding such dues.
The case arose after Shonthu, who retired on April 30, 2021, found his retiral benefits and salary withheld following a fact-finding committee's recommendations and subsequent departmental and criminal investigations. Despite being discharged from a related criminal case (FIR No. 10/2019) by the Special Judge Anti-Corruption Srinagar on August 29, 2025, the corporation continued to withhold his benefits due to another ongoing investigation (FIR No. 44/2021).
Justice Dhar ruled that since the petitioner was discharged in the earlier case and no charges were pending, withholding benefits based on ongoing investigations was unlawful. The court noted that, as per Article 168-A of the J&K CSR, recovery from pension or benefits requires a clear determination of losses caused to the employer, which was absent in this case.
Consequently, the court directed the respondents to release Shonthu's retiral benefits and unpaid salary within two months, failing which an interest of 6% per annum would apply from the petition's filing date until realization.
Bottom line:-
Withholding of retiral benefits and unpaid salary - Retiral benefits cannot be withheld based on pending investigation in a criminal case if no judicial proceeding or charge sheet has been laid before the court, nor losses caused by the employee have been established in departmental or judicial proceedings.
Statutory provision(s): Article 168-A of J&K CSR, Service Law provisions on withholding retiral benefits and unpaid salary, J&K Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules 1956.
Vikar Mustafa Shonthu v. U.T. of J&K, (Jammu And Kashmir)(Srinagar) : Law Finder Doc id # 2917948
