Refresh your Exam Preparation - 1. PA/PM/MTS Exam Materials Volume V

 1000 TIT BITS ON DISCIPLINE -218
839. Instructions issued by the Government of India
Government servants involved in departmental enquiries often ask for access /or supply of copies of:
(1) documents to which reference has been made in the statement of allegations;
(2) documents and records not so referred to the statement of allegations but which the Government servant concerned considers are relevant for the purposes of his defence;
(3) statement of witnesses recorded in the course of -
(a) a preliminary inquiry conducted by the department; or
(b) investigation made by the Police;
(4) reports submitted to the Government or other competent authority including the disciplinary authority, by an officer appointed to hold a preliminary inquiry to ascertain facts; and
(5) reports submitted to Government or other competent authority including the disciplinary authority, by the Police after investigation.

840. A list of the documents which are proposed to be relied upon to prove the charge and the facts stated in the statement of allegations should be drawn up at the time of framing the charge. This will incidentally reduce the delay that usually occur between the service of the charge-sheet and submission of the written statement. The list should normally include the documents like the First Information Report if there is one on record. Anonymous and pseudonymous complaints on the basis of which inquiries were started need not be included in the list. The list so prepared should be supplied to the officer either along with the charge-sheet or as soon thereafter as possible. The officer should be permitted access to the documents mentioned in the list, if he so desires.
If the officer requests for any official records other than those included in the list, the request should ordinarily be acceded to in the light of what has been stated in para 2 above.

841. While there is no doubt that the Government servant should be given access to various official records like documents to which reference has been made in the statement of allegations and documents and records which the Government servant concerned considers are relevant for the purposes of his defence though the relevancy is not clear to the disciplinary authority, doubts very often arise whether official records include the documents mentioned at items (4) and (5) in para 3 above. Reports made after a preliminary inquiry, or the report made by the Police, after investigation, other than those referred in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, are usually confidential and intended only to satisfy the competent authority whether further action in the nature of a regular departmental inquiry or any other action is called for. These reports are not usually made use of or considered in the inquiry. Ordinarily, even a reference to what is contained in these reports is not made in the statement of allegations. It is not necessary to give access to the Government servant to these reports. (It is necessary to strictly avoid any reference to such reports in the statement of allegations as, if any reference is made, it would not be possible to deny access to these reports; and giving of such access to these reports will not be in public interest for the reasons stated above).