Disciplinary proceedings against a retired government servant for past misconduct must be initiated within four years of the event occurring. This period of limitation commences from the date of the act, not from the date of discovery or receipt of a complaint by the disciplinary authority.

JUDGMENT :

C. HARI SHANKAR, J.

1. This writ petition assails judgment dated 7 October 2025 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal“the Tribunal” hereinafter in OA No. 1959/2020Mohd. Hakim v. DDA.

2. The proceedings emanate from of a chargesheet issued to the respondent on 4 April 2018, read with a Corrigendum dated 10 April 2018, under Rule 9 [9. Right of President to withhold or withdraw pension

(1) The President reserves to himself the right of withholding a pension or gratuity, or both, either in full or in part, or withdrawing a pension in full or in part, whether permanently or for a specified period, and of ordering recovery from a pension or gratuity of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the Government, if, in any departmental or judicial proceedings, the pensioner is found guilty of grave misconduct or negligence during the period of service, including service rendered upon re-employment after retirement:

Provided that the Union Public Service Commission shall be consulted before any final orders are passed:

Provided further that where a part of pension is withheld or withdrawn the amount of such pensions shall not be reduced below the amount of rupees three hundred and seventy-five per mensem.]

(2)(a) The departmental proceedings referred to in sub-rule (1), if instituted while the Government servant was in service whether before his retirement or during his re-employment, shall, after the final retirement of the Government servant, be deemed to be proceedings under this rule and shall be continued and concluded by the authority by which they were commenced in the same manner as if the Government servant had continued in service:

Provided that where the departmental proceedings are instituted by an authority subordinate to the President, that authority shall submit a report recording its findings to the President.

(b) The departmental proceedings, if not instituted while the Government servant was in service, whether before his retirement, or during his re-employment, -

(i) shall not be instituted save with the sanction of the President,

(ii) shall not be in respect of any event which took place more than four years before such institution, and…..” of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 “CCS (Pension) Rules” hereinafter read with Regulation 25 of the DDA (Conduct, Disciplinary and Appeal) Regulations 1999.]

3. Admittedly, the chargesheet was issued on the basis of a complaint received by the DDA on 23 March 2015, which enclosed an earlier complaint of 27 January 2015.

4. The complainant in these complaints alleged that the respondent, along with a peon working under him, came to the complainant’s house with a General Power of Attorney, in respect of a plot of land of which the respondent projected himself to be the owner, thereby inducing the complainant to buy the plot.

5. Alleging that this amounted to fraud, an FIR was registered against the respondent and the peon.

6. Following this, the respondent was retired compulsorily under FR 56 (j) on 20 January 2017.

7. After the respondent had been thus compulsorily retired, the charge-sheet dated 4 April 2018, from which the present proceedings emanate, came to be issued against the respondent under Rule 9 of the CCS (Pension) Rules.

8. The respondent challenged the aforesaid chargesheet before the Tribunal by way of OA 1959/2020.

9. Before the Tribunal, the respondent restricted his challenge to one argument, which was that the charge-sheet was incompetent, having been issued more than four years after the alleged ev