The Supreme Court has stayed the reinstatement of IAS officer Rinku Dhugga, who was compulsorily retired by the Centre following a controversy over the alleged emptying of Thyagaraj Stadium in Delhi to enable her to walk her dog.
“In the meantime, the reinstatement of the respondent shall remain stayed,” a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said in its September 7 order.
The bench, which also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, issued notice to Dhugga on the Centre’s petition challenging the Delhi High Court judgment that had set aside her compulsory retirement. The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 13.
Dhugga had first challenged the Centre’s compulsory retirement order before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which directed her reinstatement. The Delhi High Court upheld CAT’s decision on April 15.
The high court held that compulsory retirement was intended to weed out officers considered to be “deadwood” in government service and concluded that the principle did not apply in Dhugga’s case.
The controversy arose in 2022, when Dhugga and her husband, who is also an IAS officer, were accused of having Thyagaraj Stadium cleared to enable her to walk her dog. Photographs and reports of the incident triggered widespread public criticism and subsequently led to action against her.
The high court noted that the stadium episode had resulted in only a minor penalty in disciplinary proceedings. It also considered an allegation concerning Dhugga’s unauthorised absence.
Both issues had been cited in support of the decision to compulsorily retire her.
However, the high court held that the review committee’s recommendation for her compulsory retirement could not be sustained because the committee had failed to consider several relevant aspects of her service record.
These included the absence of adverse remarks in her Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs), her outstanding ratings in previous years, and the fact that she was under consideration for promotion.
