Failure to Disclose Acquisition of Family Property: Madras HC Sets Aside CAT Order Granting Notional...

The Madras High Court has set aside a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that granted a notional promotion to a Customs officer. The officer was facing disciplinary proceedings for failing to disclose the acquisition of properties in the names of his family members. The CAT had intervened prematurely, quashing the disciplinary action and granting the promotion. The High Court, however, ruled that the Tribunal had overstepped its jurisdiction. The court emphasized that the disciplinary process must be allowed to reach its logical conclusion, and it is not within the Tribunal's purview to substitute its own decision for that of the disciplinary authority.