Refused salary for eight months despite submission of medical records: TNSTC AE

A 59-year-old Senior Assistant Engineer with Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Madurai Division, has complained that she has been refused salary for eight months.In a petition addressed to the Secretary, Transport Department, V. Latha said she had applied for voluntary retirement from service on June 23, 2025, due to deteriorating health condition caused by diabetes, hypertension, depression and liver-related ailments.However, after she served the prescribed notice period of three months, the General Manager requested her orally to work for one month, upto October 31, 2025, to complete the pending works.The AE agreed for that based on the assurance given by the GM that she would be permitted to retire voluntarily after the additional one-month period.Instead of processing her voluntary retirement request, the TNSTC administration issued her several charge memoranda containing various allegations, giving rise to fear that the disciplinary proceedings were initiated to prevent her from obtaining voluntary retirement, the petition said.Ms. Latha said though initially she was marked “on medical leave” for four days from January 10, 2026, to January 13, her leave was subsequently altered as “absent” till date.If the administration had doubts in the medical records submitted by her, it should have referred her to a medical board for examination. But, marking unauthorised absence caused her grave prejudice, with regard to her salary and other service benefits, she said.While the administration told trade union leaders that she could not be allowed to go on voluntary retirement due to severe shortage of manpower, the RTI reply given to her said the division had six AE posts in excess.Ms. Latha appealed to the Secretary to consider her application for voluntary retirement, which was deemed to have been granted as her application had not been rejected during the three-month service period, she said, and urged him to order regularisation of her attendance as per rules.However, General Manager S. Muthukrishnan alleged that Ms. Latha left various works incomplete and she was given charge memoranda for negligence of work.She absented herself without intimation, the General Manager said, adding that he could not comment on the reported alteration of attendance records without verification. Published - September 24, 2026 08:52 pm IST