The Himachal Pradesh High Court has quashed the departmental proceedings against a retired Forest Department officer accused of using a fake Schedule Caste certificate. The court also ordered the immediate release of his withheld retirement benefits, citing unacceptable delays in concluding the inquiry.

Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, while delivering the judgment, stated, "It is the duty of the employer to ensure that the departmental inquiry initiated against the delinquent employee is concluded within the shortest possible time by taking priority measures."

The court underscored the importance of adhering to prescribed timelines in disciplinary proceedings to prevent undue hardship to the employee. The petitioner, a former Forest Range Officer, had been suspended just two months before his retirement in April 2016, following the issuance of a charge sheet by the Forest Department.

Although the Inquiry Officer submitted the report to the Disciplinary Authority in May 2022, no further action was taken, resulting in a protracted delay of over eight years from the start of the proceedings.

Justice Goel observed that the respondents' inaction on the inquiry report and their subsequent requests for additional information from various field offices violated Rule 15 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal) Rules, 1965.

This rule stipulates that upon receiving the inquiry report, the Disciplinary Authority must either send the case back to the Inquiring Authority for further investigation or forward the report to the delinquent officer along with any tentative reasons for disagreement.

The court further noted that the prolonged delay in concluding the departmental inquiry had caused undue hardship to the petitioner by depriving him of his rightful retirement benefits for an extended period. Referencing the case of Prem Nath Bali v. Registrar, High Court of Delhi, the court emphasized that disciplinary proceedings must be resolved within a reasonable timeframe to avoid harming an employee's rights.

The Supreme Court, in Prem Nath Bali, highlighted that such inquiries should ideally be completed within six months and no longer than a year in exceptional circumstances to prevent undue hardship.

Given the significant delay and procedural lapses by the respondents, the court quashed the departmental proceedings and the suspension order against the petitioner. It also directed the immediate release of all retiral benefits due to the petitioner, including statutory interest, and ordered that the suspension period be treated as time spent in service for all purposes.

Case Title: Varinder Kumar Versus State of Himachal Pradesh and others