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Kadirkhan Ahmedkhan Pathan v. The Maharashtra State Warehousing Corporation & Ors.

Not available · 2026 INSC 16Decided 6 Jan 2026
Not available
Justice J.K. Maheshwari · Justice Vijay Bishnoi

Background

Nearly a year after retiring with 40 years' service, an employee was charge-sheeted over alleged storage losses, and his retiral benefits were withheld, even though the Corporation's own service regulations had no clear provision for post-retirement enquiries.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found the Corporation never formally adopted the pension rules it relied on to justify post-retirement proceedings, and had never obtained the mandatory government sanction those rules require: "general practice" wasn't a substitute. The entire enquiry was quashed and all withheld benefits ordered released.

Lesson Learnt

A public employer cannot pursue disciplinary action against a retired employee by informally borrowing rules meant for someone else. It needs a specific rule, a conscious adoption of it, and any required government sanction.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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