The Supreme Court has stayed the reinstatement of senior AGMUT cadre officer Rinku Dhugga, who was compulsorily retired from service following a controversy in which she and her husband were accused of clearing the running track at south Delhi’s Thyagaraj Stadium to walk their dog.
Her compulsory retirement was set aside by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on May 7, 2025, a decision later upheld by the Delhi High Court on April 15, 2026.
The Union government challenged the reinstatement order before the Supreme Court.
Following the controversy, both officers were transferred out of Delhi and Dhugga joined as principal secretary in Arunachal Pradesh. The Centre, represented by additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, informed the court that the high court had failed to consider the serious grounds on which the review committee had recommended Dhugga’s compulsory retirement. The high court, however, noted that except for these adverse remarks, her grading in the previous years was outstanding which made her eligible for promotion.
Issuing notice to the 1994-batch officer on the Centre’s plea, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said: “In the meantime, the reinstatement of the respondent shall remain stayed. The order passed on September 7, made public now, allowed two weeks for the officer to respond and posted the matter for further hearing on October 13. On August 7, 2023, she was served with an order of compulsory retirement by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Further the high court was of the view that compulsory retirement intended to weed out “deadwood” from the service, a description it found inapplicable to Dhugga.
