DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS (4)- CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION

Dear friends,

     The service of Civil Servants is protected to some extent against dismissal or removal from service under article 311(1),(2). If full protection is provided then running the administration with bribeless, corruption free, and with full dedication of government Servants to service will be a difficult one.

     According to Article 311(1) No Civil Servant shall be dismissed or removed from service by an authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed.

     If a postal assistant is appointed by the senior superintendent of Post offices he should not be dismissed or removed from that post by asst.superintendent of Post offices by Disciplinary action .Also the appointing authority is determined with reference to the post from which the Government Servant is dismissed or removed .

       If the post of appointing authority is down graded but having the same Administrative power of appointing a government servant , has no power to dismiss the Government Servant initially appointed by the previous upgraded post appointing authority.

    That is, the postal assistant appointed by the divisional Superintendent of senior grade shall not be dismissed or removed by the divisional Superintendent if the post is down graded as SPO's from SSPO's.

   According to Article 311(2) No Civil Servant shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank without conducting an inquiry and without informing him of the charges framed against him and without giving reasonable opportunity to deny the charges or to prove his innocence.

       But if the Government Servant is found guilty in the inquiry he will not be given any opportunity of making representation on the penalty to be imposed.

      That is the Government Servant will not be given any show cause notice about the proposed penalty to be imposed against him.

     This is the first proviso to the Article 311(2).  This proviso shall not apply

a. When the Government Servant is convicted in a criminal charge

               OR

b.  Where the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank is satisfied that holding of inquiry is not possible with recorded reason

            OR

c. Where the President or Governor as the case may be is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the state ,it is not expedient to hold such inquiry.

     This is second proviso to article 311(2).

     According to Article 311(3)  the decision of the authority  not to hold inquiry is final.

There is no appeal against this decision will be made .

         Constitutional protection given under article 311(1),(2) is applicable only to dimissal or removal or reduction in rank.

       So the conclusive point regarding the protection given in Article 311(1),(2) is a limited one.

Tenkasi.                                                                                                         With Best wishes,
01.05.2018.                                                                                                      G Mariappan.