CHENNAI: Merely submitting a representation to the Director General of Police and the Chief Minister’s Special Cell seeking permission to form a police association cannot be a ground for initiating disciplinary proceedings against an employee, the Madras High Court has held.
The court was hearing three petitions filed by V. Nagalingam, a police personnel who was facing departmental proceedings. He challenged the order directing an oral inquiry, the subsequent finding that the charges against him were proved, and sought directions for the settlement of his retirement benefits.
The charge against him was that he had submitted representations to the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Chief Minister’s Special Cell seeking permission to form a police association. The Government submitted that no final punishment had been imposed on Nagalingam and that the inquiry proceedings remained pending without culminating in a final order.
After hearing the petitions, Justice Krishnaswamy Govindarajan observed that an employee is well within his rights to submit representations to higher authorities and that it is for the administrative authorities to decide whether such requests could be accepted. Merely submitting a representation seeking permission from the DGP and the Chief Minister’s Special Cell to form a police association cannot be construed as misconduct or form the basis for issuing a departmental charge memo.
The judge noted that Nagalingam had been facing disciplinary action since 2004 solely for submitting a representation and that there had been absolutely no progress in the proceedings since 2007. The judge also took note of the fact that Nagalingam had retired from service in the meantime and that no other charges or disciplinary proceedings were pending against him.
Considering the delay of over two decades since the issuance of the charge memo and the fact that the charges were flimsy and unsustainable in law, the court held that there was no justification for initiating or continuing the disciplinary proceedings. Consequently, the court quashed the entire disciplinary proceedings and directed the authorities to process and settle all pensionary and retirement benefits due to Nagalingam within 12 weeks.