The main legal point established is that retired government servants are deemed to continue in service and the amendment of charges in disciplinary proceedings is permissible under the Kerala Civil Services Rules.

Jagannadha Raju, J.

1. The first petitioner in O.P.No.852 of 1985 is the appellant in W.A.No. 27 of 1990. The sole petitioner in O.P.No.2791 of 1985 is the appellant in W.A.No. 934 of 1989. The two writ petitions were disposed of by a common judgment dated 31-5-1989 and both the writ petitions were dismissed. Aggrieved by the same, the present appeals are filed.

2. The facts necessary for decision of the controversy in these Writ Appeals are as follows. These appellants and some others were employees of the Forest Department and long before their retirement, disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against them. While the enquiry proceedings were pending before the Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal under the Kerala Civil Services (Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) Rules, 1960, these persons retired. Subsequently they challenged the continuation of the disciplinary enquiries on the ground that they are not Government servants and that they are retired employees. They also claimed that the application filed for amendment of the charges is not permissible.

3. The main contention in these Writ Appeals, is that the amendment of the charges is possible only in cases of disciplinary proceedings against Government servants who are in service and such amendment is not permissible with regard to Government servants who have retired and against whom disciplinary proceedings are continuing. Reliance is placed upon R.15(3) of the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules and R.8(3) of the Kerala Civil Services (Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) Rules. At this juncture, it would be pertinent to extract the Rules. R.15 of the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules deals with procedure for imposing major penalties. We are mostly concerned with sub-rule (3), which reads as follows:

"3. The authority or officer conducting the enquiry (hereinafter referred to as the Inquiring Authority) may, during the course of the enquiry if it deems necessary, amend, alter or modify the charges framed against the accused Government servant, in which case the accused shall be required to submit within a reasonable time to be specified in that behalf any further written statement of his defence." R.15(3) was amended as early as 24-1-1961. It is significant to remember that the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules are applicable to Government servants and the Rules form a Code in themselves. These Rules apply both to Government servants against whom disciplinary proceedings are taken while they are in service as well as to Government servants against whom disciplinary proceedings were initiated while they were in service and they are continued after their retirement. R.8(3) of the Kerala Civil Services (Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) Rules reads as follows: "The Tribunal may, during the course of the enquiry if it deems necessary add to, amend, alter or modify the charges framed against the accused Government servant; in which case the accused shall be required to submit within a reasonable time to be specified in that behalf any further written statement of his defence."

This sub-rule is similar to R.15(3) of the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules.

4. It is true originally, that is prior to 1971, there was no provision in the Civil Service Rules for initiating disciplinary enquiries against persons who have retired from Government service. In some States there was provision for continuing the disciplinary proceedings which were initiated prior to retirement. R.3 of S.1 of Chapter I of Part III of the Kerala Service Rules reads as follows:

"3. The Government reserve to themselves the right of withholding or withdrawing a pension or any part of it, whether permanently or for a specified period, and the right of ordering the recovery from a pension of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to Government, if in a departmental or judicial pro