Disciplinary action pending inquiry;
N.K.Assumi
(Querist) 06 September 2008
This query is : Resolved
Is it legal for any authority to take disciplinary action against his subordinate officers, when an inquiry is pending against the said authority?
Rajesh Kumar
(Expert) 06 September 2008
No, no disciplinary action can be taken pending inquiry.
Nevertheless the authority can take steps- not amounting to punishment- like suspension, transfer, withholding of increment etc pending inquiry.
H. S. Thukral
(Expert) 06 September 2008
Your query as I understood is that a disciplinary authority, who himself is facing an inquiry, can initiate disciplinary action against his subordinate officers.
Well, there is nothing illegal about it if he ( authority) has not been under suspension. If the authority is alloweed to perform other duties relating to his office, what is wrong in the present action.
The subordinate in his defence can say that the disciplinary action against him was motivated for he had reported against the authority or was a witness against him in the pending inquiry.
N.K.Assumi
(Querist) 07 September 2008
Yes, the subordinate officials demand that proper inquiry be made against the Authority, and pending that inquiry the said authority terminate and suspended numbers of officials under him.
H. S. Thukral
(Expert) 08 September 2008
Since the officer was nor already suspended or chargesheeted and the action taken by him against his subordinate official can not be anulled on this ground alone. It is however a case of real bias and if it is a government service file a WP in HC
Murali Krishna
(Expert) 08 September 2008
In service jurisprudence as rightly said by Harbhajan, there is no bar on the disciplinary authority not to proceed against his subordinate departmentally. Just because disciplinary authority is facing some enquiry, it automatically does not debar him from acting as disciplinary authority.
Please note disciplinary proceedings are initiated for a misconduct and unless the misconduct is proved, the charged official is not guilty and can discharge his duties. if he happens to act as disciplinary authority, he can act as such.
