PANAJI
Barely six months after being reinstated following his dismissal over proven misappropriation of excise licence fees, Lower Division Clerk Harish Naik has been allotted Vigilance wing of the Excise Department, despite a specific direction from Chief Secretary V Candavelou barring his posting to any sensitive post or office.
Naik, then an Upper Division Clerk at the Pernem Excise Station, was dismissed from service in September 2025 after a departmental inquiry found him guilty of misappropriation of government revenue. The case related to licence renewal and shack licence fees collected from applicants over four financial years from 2018-19 to 2021-22, which were allegedly not credited to the State Treasury. Despite this background and the CS’s direction, the Office of the Excise Commissioner has assigned Naik duties in the Vigilance wing, including handling vigilance complaints, complaints against staff, grievance matters and issues concerning toddy tappers. The order, a copy of which is with The Goan, also stated that the officials “shall also attend to any other duties that may be assigned to them by any other superior officer from time to time.” The Anti-Corruption Branch of the Directorate of Vigilance had reported that Naik’s role in the misappropriation was “predominantly made out”. The entire misappropriated amount of Rs 16.86 lakh was subsequently recovered from him, along with Rs 10.91 lakh in late fees, taking the total recovery to Rs 27.78 lakh. The CS, while deciding Naik’s appeal against dismissal in February 2026, held that the punishment was too harsh even though misappropriation was proven. “...the appellant had a role in this whole misappropriation act and has refunded the entire money along with interest/ penalty back to Government without causing any monetary loss to the Government...there is a need to revisit the penalty imposed on the Appellant, while at the same time ensuring that the official is removed from holding such sensitive positions in the future,” the inquiry report stated.
The appellate authority also found loopholes in the Goa Excise Management System and inadequate supervision that enabled the misconduct. It directed the system to be made foolproof by integrating the payment gateway with the e-challan module and discouraging offline payments. “The system should generate/ renew licences only when the acknowledgement of payment is received from the bank and not based on mere generation of stamped challans, which can be forged,” the findings mentioned. The dismissal was reduced to demotion from UDC to LDC for six years, with promotion barred during the period. His suspension and dismissal period was treated as ‘dies non’, excluding it from pension, increments and leave.
