HC tells tax dept to clear salary of comatose officer in a week

Jaipur: A single judge bench of the Rajasthan High Court Thursday ordered the commercial taxes department to release within seven days the salary of an officer of the department who has gone without pay for more than a year since slipping into a coma.

Expressing deep concern over the plight of the officer's family, the court ordered the department to clear any administrative hurdles in the process of releasing his salary.

"Since Diwali is ahead, ensure outstanding payment in this case in the next 7 days," the HC order read.

The order came from the single judge bench of Justice Ravi Chiraniya, who was hearing a petition filed by the officer's wife, Megha Kanwar.

"If one month's salary is not paid, the whole family suffers adversely. In this case, the employee is in a coma and the family also faces heavy medical expenses. How will they survive in such circumstances?," the court asked.

Tanveer Ahamad, counsel for the petitioner, said the officer in question is Surendra Singh Chawra, a resident of Arjiya village in Bhilwara. He was appointed to the commercial tax department in 2006, before going on to become an assistant commercial tax officer, Pratapgarh circle, after various promotions. "On August 7, 2023, he sustained a brain haemorrhage and underwent surgery. He slipped into a coma soon after and remains in that state till this day," Ahamad said.

The department kept paying his salary for a year after the incident until Aug 2024 against pending leaves and other administrative entitlements, after which it was stopped and he was classified as ‘on leave without pay', Ahamad said.

He also informed the court that Chawra was the sole breadwinner of his family, whose dependents include a wife, child, and parents.

"The court has now ordered the reinstatement of Chawra's full salary and back payments from August 2023 within 7 days," Ahamad added.