issue of charge sheet
2. What is the significance of issue of charge sheet? Issue of charge sheet is the discharge of the Constitutional obligation cast by Article 311(2) which states “No such person as aforesaid shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity…’ It is also the compliance of the principle of natural justice which states – “No one can be condemned unheard” which has been codified in the constitutional provisions under Article 311(2).
3. Who is to decide about the issue of charge sheet? Disciplinary Authority, who takes cognizance of the misconduct, is the appropriate authority to decide as to whether formal disciplinary proceedings are to be initiated against the government servant or warning or counseling is to be administered. In cases where a preliminary investigation has been conducted, the disciplinary authority may take a decision based on the preliminary investigation report. In the cases falling within the purview of the Vigilance Commission, first stage advice of the Commission is also taken into consideration when the above decision is taken.
7. What are the four Annexures to the charge sheet? Annexure – I : Articles of Charge Annexure – II : Statement of imputations of misconduct or misbehavior Annexure – III : List of Documentary evidence in support of the charges Annexure – IV : List of Oral witnesses in support of the charges
12. What is the base material in preparing the Charge sheet? Normally, the drafting of charge sheet is taken up based on the preliminary investigation report. Bulk of the material forming part of Annexure – II of the Charge Sheet can be taken from the Preliminary Investigation Report. 13. What is the ‘Charge – Fact – Evidence’ co-relation? A Charge emerges from a set of facts and the facts rest on evidence. For example, the charge of submission of a false LTC Claim, may emerge from the following facts: (a) The employee applied for leave (b) There was a mention in the leave application about the intention of availing LTC for self and family’ (c) There was a request for grant of advance (d) Advance amounting to xxx was granted to the employee (e) The employee availed leave (f) The employee on joining after leave, submitted a LTC Claim (g) That on verification of ticket from the Railway it was revealed that the ticket having PNR number mentioned by the employee in the claim was cancelled a few days before the journey. The above facts will rest on the following evidence: (a) Leave application wherein the employee had mentioned his intention to avail LTC (b) Application for sanction of advance 81 (c) Order sanctioning LTC Advance (d) Evidence in support of the fact that advance was availed by the employee (e) Claim made by the employee containing the disputed PNR number (f) Intimation from the railway authorities to the effect that the ticket having the disputed PNR number was cancelled a few days before the journey.
14. How the Articles of Charge are framed? For deciding the articles of charge, one must go through the preliminary investigation report and list all the charges that come to his/her mind in the relevant case – such as theft, negligence, non-compliance of departmental instructions, failure to safeguard government property, facilitating theft, etc. Then all those charges must be arranged in the ascending or descending order of seriousness. This must be based on common sense. For example, common sense would tell as that theft, embezzlement are more serious charges than negligence and non-compliance of instructions. After arranging the likely charges in the order of seriousness, one should ask against the most serious charge, “Do we have evidence to establish this charge?” If the answer is negative, move down to the next most serious charges. Similarly, if one starts with the least serious charge, ask the question. “Is it simply this only or something more serious?” If the answer is in the affirmative, move upward to the more serious charge. Through this process of elimination, one may arrive at the appropriate charge.
15. How to make Annexure III and IV? For filling up Annexures III and IV, go through Annexure – II (Statement of imputations of misconduct or misbehavior). At each step ask the question, “Is it required to be proved?” If the answer is yes, ask the question “Where is the evidence in support of this?” The evidence might be a part of the preliminary investigation document. If so, the same must be incorporated in the relevant Annexure. Else, efforts must be made to collect it and include in the Annexure. After completion of Annexure – III, each item therein must be considered from the angle as to how the document is to be introduced, if the same is disputed by the charged official. Oral witnesses who could introduce the documents should be added in Annexure – IV in addition to those who were already included for establishing facts. [What is a disputed document and how to handle such situation are dealt with in the chapter Conduct of Inquiry]
16. What are the precautions to be undertaken while preparing Charge Sheet? While preparing the charge sheet, it must be ensured that only those documents are referred to and relied upon therein, so that all the listed documents could be made available. Further the availability of all the listed documents must be ensured. In this connection, it is relevant that the Hon’ble Supreme Court had observed in State of Uttar Pradesh & ORS. Vs Saroj Kumar Sinha [(2010) 2 SCC 772] dismissed the appeal by the State holding as under: “ 36. The proposition of law that a government employee facing a department enquiry is entitled to all the relevant statement, documents and other materials to enable him to have a reasonable opportunity to defend himself in the department enquiry against the charges is too well established to need any further reiteration.” XXX 39. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of this case we have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the respondent had been denied a reasonable opportunity to defend himself the inquiry. We, therefore, have no reason to interfere with the judgment of the High Court.” Another important precaution to be undertaken before finalization of charge sheet is that one must go through it carefully following the “Devil’s Advocate approach” i.e. purely with the idea of finding faults in the charge sheet. The faults may range from simple clerical inaccuracies, through logical fallacies to utter absurdities. One basic question of prime concern at this stage is: How the charged officer will exploit this? Needless to add, any fault noticed must be rectified.
18. Is it necessary to quote the rules in all the articles of charge? Not necessarily; where a definite rule has been flouted, it may be quoted without fail. If however, the employee is proceeded against for a behavior contrary to accepted practice and procedure the same may be construed as violation of Rule 3 of the Conduct rules and mentioned accordingly.
20. What is the time limit for issue of charge sheet? Time limit prescribed for issue of charge sheet as prescribed by the Vigilance Manual (Ed 2005) is one month from the date of receipt of CVC’s advice and two months from the date of receipt of investigation report.