KARACHI, Oct 30: The Federal Service Tribunal set aside a Wapda order to withhold annual increment of its medical officer and recover from him Rs 477,814 on account of "misappropriated" medicines.

Dr Farooq Ahmed has been serving as a medical officer of the Wapda Hospital, Sukkur, since 1992. He was assigned the charge of drug store officer in 1998. Medicines worth a huge amount were found missing and he was held liable for gross misconduct. He was proceeded against under the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance, 2000. The officer said it was he who pointed out the "misappropriation" and it occurred before his taking over as store officer. He approached the FST through Advocate Mansoorul Haq Solangi.

A tribunal bench, comprising Qazi Mohammad Hussain Siddiqui and Rashid Ali Mirza, observed that the appellant officer was never provided the details of documentary evidence to enable him to make a rebuttal. The notice issued to him under Section 5 (4) of the ordinance, therefore, suffered from a legal infirmity. The competent authority also dispensed with with a formal inquiry by passing a mechanical order. Questions were put to him on telephone but there was no regular inquiry, it said.

Allowing the appeal and setting aside the impugned order, the FST, however, observed that the respondents were "at liberty to initiate fresh proceedings against the appellant within four months in accordance with the law".