IMPORTANT DO’S
1. Check up your order of appointment as Inquiry Officer
Disciplinary proceedings are quasi-judicial in nature. You can hold an inquiry only if you are duly authorised to do so by the competent disciplinary authority, through a formal written order. You should commence inquiry only after you have been so appointed. Any subsequent order of appointment shall not cure the initial lack of jurisdiction and the proceedings held upto that stage shall stand vitiated.
2. Get acquainted with the nature of accusations and the procedure to hold inquiry
Get hold of the papers required initially. By going through these papers you will get acquainted with the nature of charge and the evidence on which it is based. Be also fully conversant with the procedure to be followed to hold the inquiry.
3. Plan the holding of Preliminary Hearing
Decide the date, time and venue for holding preliminary hearing.
Normally, the preliminary hearing should be held within ten days, at the most twenty, of your appointment as inquiry officer. Send notices for the hearing well in time. It is mandatory to send such notices through the registered post, or these may be served in person.
4. Open Daily Order Sheet
5. Find out if the charged employee wishes to admit any of the charges in the Preliminary Hearing
If he does, it will cut short your work of holding an inquiry into the charges, which are so admitted. However, you are bound to return a report of guilt in respect of the charges, which are admitted.
6. Sort out the disputed issues, the number of documents, and witnesses etc. to be examined
A free and frank discussion with the charged officer and the presenting officer shall go a long way to eliminate unnecessary rigmarole and bring out clearly the issues in dispute requiring formal proof and the number of documents and witnesses to be examined during the inquiry. A well-planned discussion will, thus, place a proper focus before the Inquiry Officer.
7. Find out documents requiring proof
Normally, since the documents mostly produced in the departmental inquiries are official documents, their authenticity and genuineness is not in doubt. However, if the charged employee has a genuine doubt about some document, ask the presenting officer to arrange for its proof.
8. Ask the accused employee to inspect listed documents 9. Decide relevance of additional documents quickly
Though the right of the charged employee to inspect and take extracts etc from the listed documents is complete, it is not so in the case of additional documents cited by him, for his defence. Broadly speaking, the inspection of such documents is subject to the two conditions of relevance and public interest. To decide the relevance is your business.
The Supreme Court enjoins upon you to have a positive approach in the
matter, rather than having the attitude ‘why should I allow’, your approach should be “what is the harm in allowing it”.
10. Record reasons for disallowing the documents
It is mandatory requirement and must be complied with. The reasons so recorded should be communicated to the charged employee.
11. Send requisition for the additional documents to the authority to whom the documents belong
The requisition should be addressed to the Head of the Department having custody of the documents, and need not be routed through the disciplinary authority. The reminders, if any, should also be sent to such authority, direct.
12. Decide relevance of defence witnesses expeditiously
On receipt of the list of defence witnesses, their relevance should be decided expeditiously. Reasons should be recorded where evidence of any proposed witness is not considered to be relevant.
13. Hold regular hearings without avoidable loss of time
If you wish to defeat any dilatory tactics of the charged employee, you have to cut delays on your part also. The date of regular hearing should be fixed as early as practical and notices for the same sent out well in time.
14. Take all steps to secure attendance of witnesses
It is the responsibility of the inquiry officer to take all necessary steps to secure attendance of the witnesses, including defence witnesses. It will be wrong, rather perverse, to shift the responsibility to secure the presence of the defence witnesses in the inquiry, to the charged employee.
15. Obtain certificate from the defence assistant that he is not having more than two cases on hand in which he is rendering defence assistance
If the defence assistant is a retired employee, he is not subject to any restrictions.
16. Before regular hearings commence obtain certificate of inspection of documents from the charged employee.
17. Conduct the hearings fairly and firmly
Provide all necessary opportunity to the charged employee to put up his defence adequately, but at the same time reject all unreasonable demands or dilatory tactics.
18. Record the questions disallowed by you during the cross-examination
The Central Administrative Tribunal has held it to be an essential requirement. Your reason for disallowing the question should also be indicated briefly.
19. Protect the witnesses from undue harassment
The witnesses should be treated respectfully and examined courteously.
It is your duty to ensure that a witness is so treated and that no questions are put to him with the purpose to annoy or insult him.
20. Depositions of the witnesses should be recorded and their signatures obtained thereon.
These depositions should also be authenticated by the inquiry officer, and copies thereof should be supplied to the charged employee and the presenting officer.
21. Keep record of your observations regarding demeanour of the witnesses as they depose before you
This may be done in the deposition sheet of the witness at the time of authenticating it. These observations are not a secret record and should be known to both the parties. In fact, in departmental inquiries the inquiry officer cannot maintain any secret record at all.
22. Remember, the criteria to allow ‘New evidence’ is ‘inherent lacuna’ and not merely relevance.
Such evidence can be admitted at a particular stage only. ‘New evidence’
cannot be allowed to fill up gaps.
23. In ex-parte proceedings, allow the charged employee to participate in any stage, he desires
But it is not necessary to recall a witness.
24. In common proceedings, continue even if any co-accused retires from service
However, the proceedings have to be suspended if a co-accused dies or is dismissed from service.
25. In part heard inquiries, better take up threads where they were left by your predecessor
No doubt, you are free to take up proceedings, de novo, but this should be done in exceptional case only. However, you may recall a witness if considered necessary.
26. In case of ‘Court Witness’ allow cross-examination by both the parties
A ‘Court Witness’ is a witness not cited by either party but called by the inquiry officer. The calling of such a witness shall be governed by the provisions relating to ‘New evidence’.
27. Do ask mandatory questions at the close of inquiry
However, it is not mandatory where the charged employee opts to be his own witness.
28. Allow copy of the written brief of the Presenting Officer to the charged employee
But the copy of the written brief of the charged employee need not and should not be supplied to the presenting officer.
29. Evaluate the evidentiary value of each piece of evidence recorded during inquiry correctly and properly
The inquiry officer is not free to assess the value of the evidence he has recorded, according to his own notions. There are well-set and time- honoured norms for such evaluation.
30. Submit a full-blooded report of inquiry without any avoidable delay
31. Submit your report of inquiry to the disciplinary authority alongwith all original records.
You need not keep anything with you.