UNION OF INDIA & ORS. v. J. AHMED
Citation: [1979] 3 S.C.R. 504; 1979 INSC 64
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: D.A. DESAI , O. CHINNAPPA REDDY
Judgment date:
Case summary
1979 INSC 64. Supreme Court of India judgment dated 1979-03-07. UNION OF INDIA & ORS. v. J. AHMED. Read the judgment and case details on LawSphereX.
Judgment text
506 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1979] 3 s. c. R. UNION OF INDIA & ORS. v. J. AHMED March 7, 1979 (D. A. DESAI AND 0. OIINNAPPA REDDY, JJ. ] All lndia S. rvices (Death-cum-Retirement) Rules 1958-r. 16-Scope 0/1 l Words and Phrase'S: Misconduct-What conStitutes to attract punishment in • disciplinary proccedings-Mene acts of om1Ssion and commission or negligence in perforn1ance of duty-If nzisconduct. The respondent, an officer belon&in: to the Indian Administrative Service, was due to retire on February 1, 1962. Since a departmental enquiry in respect of some charges levelled aiainst him wa! pending, he was retained in service, in the first in! tance, for a period of three months beyond the date of his retirement or till tho termination of departmenta-1 proceedings whichever v. ·as earlier, This date was, however, extended from time to time and evcn 4 tually on August 28, 1963 an order under r. 16(2) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement) Rules, 1958 was pas1oed.
That Rule provides that "a member ef the service under suspension on a char~e of misconduct shrill not be required or pef'mitted to retire from service but sha. U be retained in service until the enquiry into th11 charges against him is concluded and a final order is passed," .. The charges levelled against the respondent were (1) that he completely failed to take any effective preventive measures a~ainst widespread disturbances which broke out in the district, (2) th•t he •bowed complete lack of leadership and failed to give proper directions to his subordinate officers, (3) that he did not personally visit the scene of disturbances; ( 4) that he did not keep the Government informed of the extent of disturbances; and (5) that he showed complete inaptitude, lack of foresight, capacity to take firm and quick decision and, that therefore, he proved himself completely unlit to bold any responsible position.
y On the report of the enquiry officer that all the charges {except one) were substantially proved, he was removed from 1ervice. • Striking down the order of his removal from service, the Jligh Court held that (i) nog1igence and efficiency in the performance of one's duty would not G' constitute misconduct so as to attract punishment of removal from service and (ii) under r. 16(2) an officer could be retained in service only for the purpose of holding or completing disciplinary proceedings for misconduct and since in this cftSe there· was no enquiry into what could be cad. led misconduct, his retention in service beyond his date of retirement was void. .. Dismissing the appeal, HELD: l(a) No case, stricto srnsu, for a dis. ciplinary proceeding for misconduct had been made out agaimt the respondont. Any ~. eficiency in the discharge of one's duties would not [Constitute misconduct. The enquiry held UNION v.
J, AHMBD sos was to establish that the respondent Wa6 not fit to hold a rcaponsible post; it did not establish any misconduct on his part to deserve the punishment. [516 HJ (b) Conduct which is blameworthy on the p~rt of a government servan' in the context of the Conduct Rules would be misconduct, that is if a government servant conducts himself in a way which is not consistent 'vith due and faithful discharge. of his duties it is misconduct. Similarly, disrOp. ird of an essential condition of the contract of service may constitute mh;conduct. So too an error or omission resulting in serious or atrocious consequences may , amount to misconduct. But competence for the post, capability to hold and • dischllrge the functions attached to it with requisite efficiency are different from some act or omission on the part of its holder so as to be1 called misconduct.
A single act or omission: or error of judgment while holding a post of responsibility unoccompanied by serious or atrocious conduct would not constitute misconduct. [511 G-Hl Pierce v. Fosttr, 17 QB 536 at 542; Laws v. London Chronicle (Indicator Newspapers), [1959] 1 WLR 698; S. Govinda Menon v. Union of India, [1967] 2 SCR 566; P. H. Kalyani v. Air France, Calcutta, [1964] 2 SCR 104; referred ~ - J) (c) The All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1954 prescribe a codo of conduct for members of the service, such for example1 as, that e"Very member shall at all times maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty and th&t an act or omission contrary to or in breach of the prescribed norms of conduct would constitute misconduct for disciplinary proceedings. But the Rules are not exhaustive. In the absence of an exhaustive or self-contained code, thereforo it would not be correct to sa.
y that only that act or omission would constitute misconduct for the purposes of Discipline and Appeal Rules which is contrary to the provisions of the Conduct Rules. [511 C-E] In the instant case all that the charges framed against the respondent show is 1'hat he was not a very efficient officer. They did not specify any act or. omission in derogation of or contrary to, Conduct Rules, except the general I ' rule (r. 3) prescribing devotion to duty. La-ck of leadership, inaptitude, lack y- of foresight, lack of firmness and indecisiveness which are dediciencies in the personal character or ability of a Government servant would not by themselves ' constitute misconduct for the purpose of disciplinary proceedings. They may be relevant while considering an officer's promoti9n to higher post or for his retention in a higher post but they cannot be elevated to the level of acts of omission or con1mission contemplated by Discipline find Appeal Rules for imposing punishment.
When the respondent was sought to be removed from service as a disciplinary measure by \vay of penalty, a clear case of misconduct should ha. ve been established. (d) In the context of disciplinary proceedings, misconduct doet not mean misbehaviour involving some form of guilty mind or 1nr11s rea. Gross or habituad. negligence in the performance Of one's duty may not involve 1nens rea but yet it may constitute misconduct for disciplinary proceedings. [513 DJ 2(a) The respondent was no longer in service on the date on which the order removing him from service was made and to retain him in service beyond the period of his normal retirement with a view to punishing him was wholly unjustified. [517 C-D] (b) Since the State Government had no power to retain him in service under r. 16(1)(a) of the Retirement Rules beyond August I, 1962 it could not continue the enquiry thereafter. Although under r.
16 (I )(b) the Central Government had power to retain him in service beyond six months of the date of his retirement, no ord,er had been p2ssed by it. [515 H] (c) Before· r. 16(2) (which provides that a member of the service under l suspensioa on a charge of misconduct shall not be required· or permitl'ed to • retire from service until the enquiry into the charges. against him is concluded and a final order passed) would be at. tracted it must . be sho\vn that a member of the service was under suspension on a charge of migconduct and an enquiry was being conducted against him. No misconduct having l'een tlleged against the respondent, it cannot be said that r. 16(2) was attracted and that he was deemed to have been retained in service until the enquiry was concluded. [516 F-GJ CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 2152 of 1969. · Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 1-8-1967 of the Assam and Nagaland High Court in Civil Rule No. 256 of 1966.
Naunit Lal for the Appellant. "I S. K. Dutta, S. K. Nandy and A. Sen for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DESAI, J. -Respondent J. Ahmed joined service in Assam State in 1945 and some time in 1959 came to be promoted to the Indian Administrative Service Cadre. In that very year he was posted as Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate, Nowgollg District. While he was holding the aforementioned post, some time in the beginning of June 1960 there were large scale disturbances in Nowgong city and District area described in official parlance as 'language disturbances'. There was considerable damage to property. One • Shri A N. Kidwai, the then Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, undertook an inquiry into the causes of disturbances at Nowgong with a view to ascertaining the responsibility of District o:fflcials.
After Shri Kidwai submitted his Report, the Government took the first step of suspending the respolldent from service by an order dated 14th September. 1960. The Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam by his commnnication dated 13'th Seprember 1960 conveyed to the. respondent various charges framed against him and called upon him to submit his explanation. A statement of allegations was annexed to the communicatioll. Respondent submitted his explanation and thereafter the Government appointed respondent UNION v. J. AHMED (Desai,!. ) 507 No. 4, K. Balachandran as the Enquiry Officer. After the rnquiry was concluded, the Enquiry Officer submitted· his report. It may be noticed that respondent was born on 1st February 1907 and according to Rule 16 of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirelll". Jlt Benefits) Rules, 1958 ('Retirement Rules' for short), then in force, the age of retirement being 55 years, the respondent would have retired from servio~ on 1st February 1962.
First, the Governor of J Assam by his order dated 31st January 1962 purporting to exercise • power under Rule 16(1) of the Retirement Rules, directed that the respondent then under suspension be retained in service for a period of three months beyond the date of his retirement which fell on Ist February 1962 or till the termination of departmental proceedings drawn up against him whichever is earlier. By subsequent orders dated 21st June 1962, Ist September 1962, 23rd February 1963 and 28th August 1963 respondent was retained in service, till the inquiry pending against him concluded and final orders were passed in the proceedings. [t may be mentioned that the order dated 28th August 1963 was made by the Governor in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (2) of rule 16 of the Retirement Rules. The Enquiry Officer submitted his report holding charges 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 proved and in respect of charge No. 4 the finding recorded was that though the charge.
was proved, the Enquiry Officer took note of certain extenuating circumstances mentioned in the report. A Memorandum dated 22nd February 1963 was served by the Government of India on the respondent forwarding the report of the Enquiry Officer and the respondent was called upon to show cause why the provisional penalty determined by the Government of removal from service be not imposed upon him. Ultimately, by order dated 11th October 1963 the President, after con- \ . sultation with the Union Public Seryice Commission, imposed the .. '-(' penalty of removal from service on the respondent. A memorial submitted by the respondent to the President under Rule 20 of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1955, ('Discipline and Appeal Rules' for short), 'against the imposition of the penalty was rejected. The respondent filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in the High Court of Assam and Nagaland.
Two contentions were raised before the High Court: (1) Whether rule 16(2) of the Retirement Rules is attracted so as to retain the respondent in service beyond the period of his normal retirement for the purpose of completing disciplinary proceedings against the respondent; and (2) if rule 16(2) was not attracted, whether the retention of respondent beyond the normal period of his retirement was valid and if it was not valid, whether he could be removed from service after he had actually and effectively retired from service 7 While examining these two contentions, the High Court was of the opinion that disciplinary proceedings can be held and punishment can be imposed for misconduct and the charges ex facie did not disclose any misconduct because negligence in performance of duty or inefficiency in discharge of duty would not constitute misconduct.
On the second point it was held that if the Enquiry was not for any misconduct, sub-rule (2) of rule 16 would not be attracted • • and the Government had no power to retain the respondent in service for the purpose of holding or completing disciplinary proceeding which can only be tor misconduct, and as there was no inquiry into what can be styled as misconduct, the retention in service of the respondent beyond the period of retirement was not legal and valid, and, therefore, the respondent could not be removed from service from which he had retired. In accordance with these findings, the writ petition filed by the respondent was allowed declaring that the respondent was deemed to have retired from service from 1st February 1962 and that the punitive or disciplinary action taken against him after that date is completely without jurisdiction and wholly unjustified, and the same was quashed. The Union of India and the State of Assam have preferred this appeal by special leave.
Rule 3 of the Discipline and Appeal Rules provides that the penalties therein set out may, for good and sufficient reasons, be imposed on a member of service. One such penalty prescribed therein is 'removal from service which shall not disqualify for future employment'. Rule 4 prescribes the authority competent to institute disciplinary proceedings. Where a member of a service has committed any act or omission which renders him liable to any penalty specified in rule 3, an inquiry shall be held according to procedure prescribed in rule 5. Therefore penalty prescribed in rule 3 can be imposed upon a member of the ser- • vice for any act or omission committed by him which, according to rule 3, must provide good and sufficient reason to impose one or the other of the penalties mentioned therein.
Rule 7 of the Discipline and Appeal Rules enables the Government to put under suspension a member of the Service during disciplinary proceeding if having regard to the nature of charges and circumstances the Government thinks it proper to do so. Sub-rule (2) of Rule 16 of the Retirement Rules as it stood at the relevant time reads as under : "16(2). A member of the service under suspension on a charge of misconduct shall not be required or permitted to retire from the service but shall be retained in service until the UNION v. J. AHMED (Desai,!. ) 509 inquiry into the charges against him is concluded and a final order is passed". A survey of these rules would show that disciplinary proceedings • can be held against a member of the service for any act or omission which renders him liable to a penalty and such penalty can be imposed for good and sufficient reasons. All India Services (Conduct) Rules, i954, prescribe a code of conduct for members of service.
Discipline and Appeal Rules provide for disciplinary action and imposition of penalties. Sub-rule (2) of rule 16 of the Retirement Rules contem- . ~· plates a situation where a member of service against whom disciplinary proceeding is pending is likely to retire and the proceedingl! may be thwarted and provides for his retention in service beyond the date of his retirement till the completion of the inquiry, provided the delin-quent officer is under suspension on a charge of misconduct. The respondent contended and the contention has found favour with the High Court that the charges framed against the respondent, even if they are held proved, would not constitute misconduct, and, therefore, it could not be said that he was under suspension on a charge of misconduct and accordingly &ub-rule (2) of rule 16 would not be attracted and he could not be retained in service beyond the date of his retirement.
It was said that retention in service being invalid, imposition of penalty after his retirement is illegal. Therefore, what constitutes misconduct for a member of a service liable to be removed from service on proof ofsuch misconduct in a disciplinary proceeding, looms large in this case. To appreciate the contention it is better to have a look at the charges ·- ervant .. had come to an end on March 31, 1961 and the State Government could not by unilateral action create a fresh contract of service to take effect from April 1, 1961. If the State Government wished to continue the service of the respondent for a further period, the State Government should have issued a notification before March 31, 1961. It is thus clear that the retention of the respondent in service by order of the State Government not made before the retirement taking place on !
st August 1962 and the State Government not having the power to retain the res-· pendent, a member of the Indian Administrative Service, beyond a period of six months, the respondent could not be said to have continued in service so that an inquiry could be continued against him. Mr. Naunit Lal, however, contended that sub-rule ,(2) of rule 16 clearly provides that a member of the service under suspension on a charge of misconduct shall not be required or permitted to retire from the service until the enquiry into the charges against him is concluded and a final order is passed. It is in the context of snb-rule (2) of rule 16 that the question of the nature of the proceedings held against the respondent assumed importance. If the inquiry was on a charge of misconduct, the respondent could be retained in service until the inquiry into the charges against him was concluded and a final order was made.
But before sub-rule (2) of rule 16 would be attracted it must be shown #111' lllat the member of the service was under suspension on a charge of misconduct and an inquiry was being conducted against him. As . ) pointed out earlier, no misconduct as one would understand that word in the context of disciplinary proceeding was alleged against the respondent. There was an inquiry but before sub-rule (2) of rule 16 is • attracted, it had to be an inquiry on a charge of misconduct. What is alleged is not misconduct as the word is understood in service jurisprudence in the context of disciplinary proceedings. Therefore, it .. could not be said that an inquiry on a charge of misconduct was being held against the respondent and sub-rule (2) of rule 16 would thus be attracted and he would be deemed to have been retained in service till the inquiry was concluded. It thus appears crystal clear that there was no case stricto sensu for a disciplinary proceeding against the respondent.
In fact the inquiry was held to establish that the respondent was not fit to hold a respon- (1) AIR 1965 S. C. 473. UNION v. J. AHMED (Desai, J. ) 517 sible post. The respondent was actually retiring from service and there was no question of his any more holding a responsible position. Yet not only the inquiry was initiated but he was retained in service beyond the date of his normal retirement till the final order was made on 11th October, 1963 when he was removed from the Indian Administrative Service. It appears that there were large scale disturbances in the State. There followed the usual search for a scapegoat and the respondent came handy. Some charges were framed none of which could I constitute misconduct in law. Some charges were mere surmises. Sub-stance of the allegations was that he was not a very efficient officer and lacked the quality of leadership and was deficient in the faculty o[ decision making. These deficiencies in capacity would not constitute misconduct.
If the respondent were a young man and was io continue in the post for a long period, such an inquiry may be made whether he should be retained in the responsible post. He may or may not be retained but to retain him in s,rvice beyond the period of his norm~! retirement with a view to p_unishing him was wholly unjustified. The High Court was, therefore, right in coming to the conclnsion that the respondent was no longer in service on the date on which an order removing him from service was made and, therefore, the order was illegal and void. Accordingly, this appeal fails and is dismissed with costs. P. B. R. Appeal dismissed. ' .
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