CCS Rules & Principles of Natural justice
1. Where
enquiry need not be held
While
the Constitution has provided protection to the civil servants against the
doctrine of removal at pleasure, even where a civil servant is removed,
dismissed or reduced in rank by way of punishment, the second proviso to Art.
311 (2) lays down that there shall be no need for an enquiry or for giving
notice :
(i) where
a person is dismissed or removed or reduced in rank on the ground of conduct
which has led to his conviction on a criminal charge.
(ii) where
the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank
is satisfied that for some reason, to be recorded by that authority in writing,
it is not reasonably practicable to hold an enquiry.
(iii) where
the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the
interest of the security of the State it is not expedient to hold such enquiry.
ii.
The Constitution Bench in Tulsi Ram Patel explained the effect of each of the
three clauses of the second proviso to Art. 311 (2) as below –
(i) By
reason of C! (a) major penalty is not the automatic result of a conviction on a
criminal charge. Conviction of offence of trivial nature may not call for any
departmental punishment.
(ii) As
far as Cl (b) is concerned the satisfaction must be that it is not
"reasonably practicable" to hold the inquiry. It must be inferred
that holding of the enquiry is not practicable in the opinion of a reasonable
man taking a reasonable view of the prevailing situation.
(iii) The
expression "in the interest of the security of the State" shows that
the question that is relevant under CI (c) is not whether the security of the
State has been affected but whether there is even likelihood of acts taking
place which could jeopardies the security of the State.
[Union
of India v. Tulsi Ram Patel, (1985) 3 SCC 398]
2.
Reliefs and Remedies :
Since
the provisions of Art. 311 (1) and (2) are mandatory, a dismissal or removal contrary
to these clauses is void and inoperative. In respect of actions taken under the
second provisio to Art 311 (2) departmental as well as judicial remedies are
available. Departmental remedies are provided under the rules concerned
relating to different services while judicial remedy under Art. 32, 136 or 226
can be availed under the well established principles of judicial review of
administrative action.
Sir
ReplyDeleteConstitutional provisions regarding
Circumstances when enquiry need not be held ,reliefs and remedies described nice