The main legal point established in the judgment is that 'detention' under Rule 10 (2) (a) of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965 commences from the moment a government servant is put under 'custody,' and the order of remand has no impact on computing the 48-hour period stipulated under the Rules.

V.K. TAHILRAMANI, J.

1. Heard both sides.

2. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith and the matter is heard finally by consent of the parties.

3. This Writ Petition has been preferred by the petitioner against the order dated 26.7.2012 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Bombay Bench, Mumbai whereby Original Application No. 818 of 2011 preferred by the petitioner came to be dismissed. In the said O.A. the petitioner prayed for setting aside suspension order issued against him.

4. According to the respondents, the petitioner was detained in custody on a criminal charge under Prevention of Corruption Act for a period exceeding 48 hours, hence, pursuant to Rule 10 (2) (a) of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules 1965, the petitioner came to be suspended.

5. The petitioner was working as District Youth Coordinator in the office of the Nehru Yuva Kenda Sangathan at Thane in Maharashtra. He was admittedly taken into custody by Central Bureau of Investigation at 1.40 a.m. on 9.3.2011 in connection with a crime registered against him for an offence punishable under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The petitioner admits that he was produced by the Central Bureau of Investigation before the Special Judge at 6.11 p.m. on 9.3.2011 and remanded to CBI Custody till 11.3.2011. On expiry of the period of remand, the petitioner was produced before the Special Judge at 5.20 p.m. on 11.3.2011 and on that day, he was remanded to judicial custody till 25.3.2011, however, thereafter on 11.3.2001, the Court ordered his release on bail.

6. On 23.3.2011, Respondent No. 4 placed the petitioner under suspension invoking the power under sub-rule (2) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules 1965 (for short "the Rules") obviously reckoning the period of detention of the petitioner being in excess of 48 hours commencing from the point of his arrest.

7. The petitioner who was an employee in the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan which comes under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India raised the short but interesting questions which are as under:-

When does the period of detention of 48 hours contemplated under Rule 10 (2) (a) of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965 start to run? Does it commence from the moment, the Government Servant is detained in custody by the Police on his arrest? Does the period start to run only from the time when he is remanded to custody, be it judicial or police, by the jurisdictional Magistrate as provided under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?

8. Mr. Chaturvedi, the learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the period of detention can be computed only from the time, the petitioner was produced before the Special Judge on 9.3.2011 at 6.11 p.m. and not from the time, when he was taken into custody by the CBI on 9.3.2011 at 1.40 a.m. The thrust of the argument of the learned counsel is that detention of the petitioner became "regular" or "legal" only when he was remanded to custody through a judicial order which was passed on 9.3.2011 at 6.11 a.m. and detention by the CBI prior to his production before the jurisdictional Court was "nonest" in the eye of the law.

9. Before we deal with the above contention, we may refer to the relevant clauses of Rule 10 of the Rules, which read thus:-

10. Suspension:

(1) The Appointing Authority or any authority which it is subordinate or the Disciplinary Authority or any other authority empowered in that behalf by the President, by general or special order, may place a Government servant under suspension:-

(a) xxx xxx

(aa) xxx xxx

(b) xxx xxx

(2) A Government servant shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of Appointing Authority:

(a) With effect from the date of his detention, if he is detained in custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise, for a period exceeding 48 hours.

xxx xxx

(Emphasis sup