The Division Bench of the Supreme Court in the case of The State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors. vs Rajit Singh consisting of Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna observed that where it is found that the enquiry is not conducted properly and/or the same is in violation of the principles of natural justice, matter should be remanded to the Disciplinary Authority to conduct the enquiry from the stage it stood vitiated.
Facts
The employee (respondent) was serving as a Junior Engineer at Balia. Via an enquiry, it was found that he had committed financial irregularities causing loss to the Government. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against the respondent and others. The respondent was served with charge sheet. The Enquiry Officer held the charges and misconduct alleged against the respondent as proved. The Disciplinary Authority concurred with the findings and passed an order of recovery of Government loss of Rs. 22,48,964.42/- as per the rules from the salary; temporarily stopping two salary increments and the remarks given for the year 2017-2018.
Procedural History
The respondent filed a representation against the said order before the State Government, which came to be rejected. Then he filed a Claim Petition before the Tribunal challenging the order of punishment imposed by the Disciplinary Authority. The Tribunal allowed the same and quashed the punishment mainly on the ground of Doctrine of Equality and that the enquiry conducted was in breach of principles of natural justice in as much as the relevant documents mentioned in the charge sheet were not supplied to the delinquent officer. Feeling dissatisfied, the State preferred the writ petition before the High court, but the Court refused to interfere with the Tribunal’s order. The State preferred a Review Application before the High Court which was also dismissed. Feeling aggrieved, the State preferred the present appeals.
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Contentions Made
Appellant: Fullest opportunity was given to the respondent by the Disciplinary Authority. The respondent was served with the Enquiry Report and thereafter was given the opportunity by the Disciplinary Authority and after considering the detailed representation by the respondent employee against the findings recorded by the Enquiry Officer, the Disciplinary Authority imposed the punishment, which ought not to have been set aside by the Tribunal.
Respondent: They supported the order passed by the Tribunal as well as the High Court.
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Observations of the Court
“Merely because some other officers involved in the incident are exonerated and/or no action is taken against other officers cannot be a ground to set aside the order of punishment when the charges against the individual concerned - delinquent officer are held to be proved in a departmental enquiry. There cannot be any claim of negative equality in such cases. Therefore, both the Tribunal as well as the High Court have committed a grave error in quashing and setting aside the order of punishment imposed by the Disciplinary Authority by applying the Doctrine of Equality.”
“In a case where it is found that the enquiry is not conducted properly and/or the same is in violation of the principles of natural justice, in that case, the Court cannot reinstate the employee as such and the matter is to be remanded to the Enquiry Officer/Disciplinary Authority to proceed further with the enquiry from the stage of violation of principles of natural justice is noticed and the enquiry has to be proceeded further after furnishing the necessary documents mentioned in the charge sheet, which are alleged to have not been given to the delinquent officer in the instant case.”
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Judgment
The findings recorded by the Tribunal as well as the High Court were set aside. However, as the enquiry was found to be vitiated and was found to be in violation of the principles of natural justice, the matter was remanded to the Disciplinary Authority to conduct a fresh enquiry from the stage it stood vitiated, i.e., after the issuance of the charge sheet and to proceed further with the enquiry after furnishing all the necessary documents mentioned in the charge sheet and after following due principles of natural justice.
Case Name: The State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors. vs Rajit Singh
Citation: CIVIL APPEAL NOS.2049-2050 OF 2022
Bench: Justice M.R. Shah, Justice B.V. Nagarathna
Decided on: 22nd March 2022
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