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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
ANANDA SEN
Rabindra Nath Panda S/o Late Ram Krishna Panda – Appellant
Versus
State of Jharkhand – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. allegations and departmental proceedings against petitioner. (Para 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. lack of evidence and procedural fairness in the inquiry. (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 3. violation of natural justice in imposing penalties. (Para 11 , 12) |
| 4. writ petition allowed; order to refund pension amount. (Para 13) |
JUDGMENT :
ANANDA SEN, J.
1. Heard learned counsel representing the petitioner and learned counsel representing the respondents, at length.
2. By filing this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the impugned order as contained in Memo No.5/Aarop-1-555/2014 Ka-7103/Ranchi dated 19.09.2018 (Annexure-11 to the writ petition), whereby in a Departmental Proceeding, the petitioner was found guilty on the basis of the impugned enquiry report and he was imposed with a punishment of deduction of 10% of his pension, under Rule 43 (b) of the JHARKHAND PENSION RULES , 2000.
3. The petitioner was the Settlement Officer at the relevant point of time.
4. The allegation against the petitioner is that he had appointed 27 persons as “Safai Moharir” without following the appointment process and without any advertisement.
5. Since, charge was framed against the petitioner before his
Departmental proceedings require oral or documentary evidence to support charges; without it, findings are invalid and violate principles of natural justice.
In departmental proceedings, charges must be substantiated by oral evidence; mere document submission is insufficient, rendering the proceedings invalid.
Non-examination of witnesses to prove documents in a departmental proceeding violates the principle of natural justice and renders the entire proceeding and enquiry vitiated.
In departmental proceedings, charges cannot be proved solely on documentary evidence without oral corroboration, upholding the principles of natural justice.
A departmental proceeding cannot result in punishment without oral evidence; reliance solely on an internal inquiry report is insufficient.
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