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Madhya Pradesh High Court · body

2019 DIGILAW 572 (MP)

Sunil Kumar Badoniya v. State of M. P.

2019-08-08

S.C.SHARMA

body2019
ORDER 1. Heard. 2. Petitioner, a retired employee has filed this present petition being aggrieved by the order dated 9.1.2018 by which the State government has passed an order withholding salary for the period the petitioner was under suspension. 3. The facts of the case reveal that the petitioner at the relevant point of time was working on the post of Vikaskhand Shiksha Adhikari, Dewas and a charge sheet was issued by the competent authority on 20.8.2013. In the charge sheet it was stated in respect of charge number one that the petitioner was called for a meeting and reached the venue of the meeting with a delay of ½ an hour at 12.15 p.m.. The second charge was that he has not carried out inspection and has not submitted the report in respect of the inspection. An enquiry was held and thereafter charge number one was proved meaning thereby that he has not attended the meeting in time. The petitioner did submit the reply and also before the enquiry officer stated categorically that on account of break down of his vehicle he was not able to reach in time and there was no deliberate attempt on his part so far as the delay in reaching the meeting place is concerned. Though, the charge sheet was issued in 2013 but the final order has been passed only on 9.1.2018 and it has been stated that the petitioner shall not be entitled for full salary for the period he was under suspension. 4. The respondents have stated that the petitioner as he has been held partially guilty of the misconduct has rightly been punished by passing the impugned order. 5. The State Government in exercise of the powers conferred to the proviso to Sec.309 has framed Rules known as M.P. Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1966 and Rule 10 of the Rules reads as under : "10. Penalties. 5. The State Government in exercise of the powers conferred to the proviso to Sec.309 has framed Rules known as M.P. Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1966 and Rule 10 of the Rules reads as under : "10. Penalties. - The following penalties may, for good and sufficient reasons and as hereinafter provided, be imposed on a Government servant, namely : Minor penalties : (i) Censure; (ii) Withholding of his promotion; (iii) recovery from his pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the Government by negligence or breach of order; [(iv) withholding of increments of pay or stagnation allowance; Major Penalties :- (v) reduction to a lower stage in the time scale of pay for a specified period with further directions as to whether or not, the Government servant will earn increments of pay or the stagnation allowance, as the case may be, during the period, on such reduction and whether on the expiry of such period, the reduction will or will not have the effect of postponing the further increments of his pay or stagnation allowance; Note. - The expression "reduction to a lower stage in the time scale of pay" shall also include reduction of pay from the stage of pay drawn by a Government servant of account of grant of stagnation allowance of any]. (vi) reduction to a lower time scale of pay, grade, post or service which shall ordinarily be a bar to the promotion of the Government servant to the time scale of pay, grade, post or service from which he was reduced, with or without further directions regarding conditions of restoration to the grade or post or service from which the Government servant was reduced and his seniority and pay on such restoration to that grade, post or service; (vii) compulsory retirement; (viii) removal from service which shall not be a disqualification for future employment under the Government; (ix) dismissal from service which shall ordinarily be a disqualification for future employment under the Government;. [x x x] Explanation. [x x x] Explanation. - The following shall not amount to a penalty within the meaning of this rule, namely :- (i) withholding of increments of pay of a Government servant for his failure to pass any departmental examination in accordance with the rules or orders governing the service to which he belongs or post which he holds or the terms of his appointment; (ii) stoppage of a Government servant at the efficiency bar in the time scale of pay on the ground of his unfitness to cross the bar; (iii) non-promotion of a Government servant, whether in a substantive or officiating capacity, after consideration of his case, to a service, grade or post for promotion to which he is eligible; (iv) reversion of a Government servant officiating in a higher service, grade or post to a lower service, grade or post, on the ground that he is considered to be unsuitable for such higher service, grade or post or on any administrative ground unconnected with his conduct; (v) reversion of a Government servant, appointed on probation to any other service, grade or post, to his permanent service, grade or post during or at the end of the period of probation in accordance with the terms of his appointment or the rules and orders governing such probation; (vi) replacement of the services of a Government servant, whose services had been borrowed from the Union Government or any other State Government, or an authority under the control of any Government, at the disposal of the authority from which the service of such Government servant had been borrowed; (vii) compulsory retirement of a Government servant is accordance with the provisions relating to his superannuation or retirement; (viii) termination of the services; (a) of a Government servant appointed on probation, during or at the end of the period of his probation, in accordance with the terms of his appointment or the rules and orders governing such probation; or (b) of a temporary Government servant appointed until further orders on the ground that his services are no longer required; or (c) of a Government servant, employed under an agreement, in accordance with the terms of such agreement." 6. The aforesaid punishment does not find place either under the heading of minor penalty or under the heading of major penalty and, therefore, a penalty which is not provided under the rule cannot be inflicted upon the petitioner. In the considered opinion of this Court once no penalty has been imposed as provided under rule 10 of the Rules of 1966, the respondents cannot withhold payment of full salary as has been done by passing the impugned order. 7. Resultantly, the impugned order dated 9.1.2018 is hereby quashed. The respondents are directed to pay the arrears of salary for the period with effect from 19.7.2013 to 25.9.2013 to the petitioner within a period of 60 days from today. 8. With the aforesaid, the petition stands allowed.