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PRESENTATION ON SUSPENSION

BY

MANOJ KUMAR BHARTI, OS-I/E-II

UNDER GUIDANCE OF

SHRI PRAKASH CHANDRA, DD/E-II

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suspension

The rules regarding suspension has been described in the part-II under rule 5 of THE RAILWAY SERVANTS (DISCIPLINE AND APPEAL) RULES, 1968

Suspension means the suspension of official activities of a Railway servant.

The suspension is not a penalty under D&A Rules.

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Suspension RULE-5

1 A railway servant may be placed under suspension-(a) where a disciplinary proceeding against him is

contemplated or is pending; or

(b) where, in the opinion of the competent authority , the railway servant has engaged himself in activities against the interest of the security of the state; or

(c) where a case against the railway servant in respect of any criminal offence, is under investigation, inquiry or trial.

•

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Deemed Suspension

2 A railway servant shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of the competent authority-

(a) with effect from the date of his detention, if he is detained in police custody, either on a criminal charge or otherwise, for more than

forty- eight hours;(b) with effect from the date of his conviction, if in the event of a

conviction, he is sentenced to imprisonment more than forty-eight hours and is not forthwith dismissed or removed or compulsorily retired.

Explanation – The period of forty-eight hours referred to in clause (b) above shall

be computed from the commencement of the imprisonment and intermittent periods of imprisonment, if any, shall be taken into account.

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3 Where a penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service imposed upon a railway servant under suspension, is set aside in appeal or on revision and/ or review under these rules and the case is remitted for further inquiry or action or with any other directions, the order of his suspension shall be deemed to have continued in force on from the date of the original order of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement and shall remain in force until further orders.4 Where a penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service imposed upon a railway servant, is set aside or declared or rendered void in consequence of or by a decision of a court of Law and the disciplinary authority on consideration of the circumstances of the case, decides to hold a further inquiry against him on the allegations on which the penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement, was originally imposed, the railway servant shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by the competent authority from the date of the original order of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement and shall continue to remain under suspension until further orders.Provided that no such further inquiry shall be ordered unless it is intended to meet a situation where the court has passed an order purely on technical ground without going into the merits of the case.

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(5)

(a) An order of suspension/deemed suspension shall continue to remain in force until it is modified or revoked by the competent authority.

(b) Where a railway servant is suspended/deemed suspended and any other disciplinary proceeding is commenced against him , the competent authority may , for reasons to be recorded by

him in writing, direct that the suspension will be continued until the termination of all or any of such proceedings.

(c) An order of suspension made or deemed to have been made, may, at any time, be modified or revoked by the competent

authority.

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6. Notwithstanding any thing contained in sub rule 5, an order of suspension/deemed suspension shall not be valid after a period of ninety days unless it is extended after review for a further period before expiry of ninety days.

7. The review in an order of suspension shall be done by the competent authority on the recommendation of the review committee and shall pass order either extending or revoking the suspension before expiry of ninety days from the date of order of suspension. Subsequent review shall be made before expiry of extended period of suspension. Extension of suspension shall not be a period exceeding one hundred and eighty days at a time.

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Review Committee

The composition of Review committee may be as follows :

a) The committee will ordinarily be constituted by the appellate authority. However, an authority higher than the suspending authority, including the revisionary authority, may also constitute the committee. The committee will be constituted consisting of following members :-

1) Suspending authority

2) Two officials not lower in rank than the suspending authority.

The committee will submit its recommendation to the authority which constituted the committee.

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b) Where General Manager or an officer of equivalent rank or Director of a Centralised Training Institute or Chairman of Railway Recruitment Board or Head of any other organisation under the Administrative control of the Ministry of Railways is the suspending authority, the review committee shall be constituted by the Railway Board (the Functional Members) and would comprise of the suspending authority and two other officers from the Railway Board who are not lower in rank than the suspending authority. However, keeping in view the fact that the offices of the Zonal Railways, Training Institutes, Railway Recruitment Boards, etc and that of the Railway Board being far away from each other and the sensitive and important duties being shouldered by the suspending authority and other members of the Committee, it may not be possible for them to meet jointly. Thus where such officer is the Suspending Authority, that Authority may submit his recommendation to the Railway Board (the Functional Member) who, after considering the same, alongwith the recommendations of the other two members shall take a decision in the matter

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c) Where Board is the suspending authority, the President will constitute the committee consisting of three Board Members including the Board Member who suspended the officer. The committee will submit its recommendations to the President for taking a decision.

d) Where President is the suspending authority, the President will constitute the committee consisting of three Board Members including the functional Board Member i.e. on the lines similar to item ( c) above.

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The Review Committee may take a view regarding revocation/ continuation of the suspension keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case and also taking into account that unduly long suspension, while putting the employee concerned to undue hardship, involve payment of subsistence allowance without the employee performing any useful services to the government and make its recommendation. If the officer has been under suspension for one year without any charges being filed in a court of law or no charge-memo has been issued in a departmental inquiry, the suspension shall ordinarily be revoked without prejudice to the case(s) against him. However, in case the official is in police/judicial custody or is accused of a serious crime or a matter involving national security, the Review Committee may recommend the continuation of the suspension of the official concerned.

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Authorities competent to place a railway servant under suspension - RULE -4

The classes of railway servants who may be placed under suspension and the authorities by whom they may be so placed, shall be as specified in Schedules I, II and III:Provided that, in exceptional circumstances, any authority specified in any of the Schedules may place any subordinate railway servant specified therein, under suspension:Provided further that where any action is taken under the foregoing proviso, the authority concerned shall forthwith report to the authority competent to place such railway servant under suspension, the circumstances in which the order was made and obtain his approval.Explanation.-For the purpose of this rule, in respect of a railway servant officiating in a higher post, the competent authority shall be determined with reference to the officiating post held by such railway servant at the time of taking action.

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Report of arrest to superiors by railway servants

It shall be the duty of a Railway servant who may be arrested, for any reason, to intimate the fact of his arrest and the circumstances connected therewith to his official superiors promptly even though he might have subsequently been released on bail. On receipt of the information from the person concerned or from any other source, the departmental authorities should decide whether the facts and circumstance leading to arrest of the person call for his suspension. Failure on the part of any railway servant to so inform his official superiors will be regarded as suppression of material information and will render him liable to disciplinary action on this ground alone, apart from the action that may be called for on the outcome of the police case against him.

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The state Government have also been advised to issue necessary instructions to the police authorities under their control to send prompt intimation of the arrest or/and release on bail etc. of Central Government servants to the latter’s officials superiors as soon as possible after the arrest or release indicating also the circumstances of the arrest etc., to enable them to decide what action, if any, should be taken against such employees.

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Subsistence Allowance

A Railway servant under suspension/deemed suspension shall be entitled to the following payments :-

1 A suspended Railway servant is entitled for the first three months of suspension to subsistence allowance for an amount equal to leave salary on half pay with DA.

2. The suspending authority has to review and pass necessary orders before expiry of first three months . The allowance may be increased by a suitable amount not exceeding 50% of the initial sum, if the suspension is prolonged due to the reason not directly attributed to Railway servant. It may be decreased in the same manner if Railway servant is held to be responsible for the prolongation.

Note: No payment shall be made unless the railway servant furnishes a certificate that he is not engaged in other employment, business, profession or vocation.

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Deductions from Subsistence Allowance

a) Deductions on accounts of subscriptions to Provident fund , Court Attachment and Fine imposed cannot be recovered.

b) The following are the permissible deductions from the subsistence allowance :1. House rent and conservancy charges, 2. Electric charges, if supplied by Railway,3. Water charges where recoverable under these rules,4. Diet charges of the hospital5. Doctor’s fee under contract system,6. Repayment of Advance and Loans taken from Government,7. Station debits, Stores debits and Workshop debits,8. Income-tax where due. 9. Recovery of losses caused to Government, if not deferred.

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c) The following type of recoveries can be made provided the suspended employee gives written request :

1. Payment of co-operative Societies dues,

2. Subscriptions payable to institute and clubs,

3. LIC Premia

4. School fee, and

5. Refund of SBF and PF loans.

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Forwarding of applications of Government/Railway servants who are under suspension or against whom departmental proceedings are pending :

Applications of such Railway servants should not be forwarded , nor should they be released for any assignments, scholarships, fellowship, training etc., under an international agency /organisation or a foreign government. Such Railway servants should also not be sent or allowed to go on deputation or foreign service to posts under an authority in India.

Resignation during suspension or where an inquiry or investigation is pending:

If a Railway servant against whom an enquiry or investigation is pending (whether he has been placed under suspension or not) submits his resignation, such resignation should NOT normally be accepted. Where, however, the acceptance of resignation, in such a case is considered necessary in the public interest i.e. for reasons such as the alleged offences do not involve moral turpitude or the evidence against the delinquent officer is not strong enough to justify the assumption that if the department proceedings were continued, the officer would be removed or dismissed from service or the departmental proceedings are likely to be so protracted that it would be cheaper to the public exchequer to accept the resignation, the resignation may be accepted.

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Effect of suspension : An order of suspension has the effect of debarring a railway servant from exercising the powers and discharging the duties of his office for the period the order remains in force. Suspension is not a penalty under the D&A Rules.

Voluntary retirement during suspension :

The right of voluntary retirement, on attainment of the age of 55 years or thereafter, after giving 3 months notice to the appointing authority, is not freely available to railway servants under suspension. The exercise of the right of voluntary retirement in such cases is subject to the prior approval of the appointing authority.

No employment under suspension : A Railway servant under suspension is subject to the provisions of the Railway Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966 and can not engage himself in any employment, business, profession or vocation without the prior permission of the competent authority. If he does so, he is liable to disciplinary action on that ground.

Grant of leave under suspension : It is not permissible to grant leave to a Railway servant under suspension, even if it were applied for on medical certificate.

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Headquarters of Railway servants under suspension :An officer under suspension is regarded as subject to all other conditions of service applicable generally to Railway savants and can not leave the station without prior permission. As such, the headquarter of a railway servant should normally be assumed to be his last place of duty. However, where an individual under suspension request for change of headquarter, there is no objection to a competent authority changing the headquarters, if it is satisfied that such a course will not put the Railway administration to any extra expenditure like grant of T.A. etc. or other complications.

Reversion while under suspension : A Railway servant placed under suspension while officiating in a higher post can be reverted to the lower post otherwise than as punishment even during his suspension.

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Travelling allowance during suspension to attend the departmental inquiry :

A Railway servant under suspension, who is required to perform a journey to attend a departmental enquiry, may be allowed travelling allowance as for a journey on tour from his headquarters to the place where departmental enquiry is held or from his place at which he has been permitted to reside during suspension, to the place of enquiry, whichever is less. No travelling allowance will, however, be admissible, if the enquiry is held at his own request.

Grant of Privilege Pass under suspension :

One full set pass or two half set pass can be given to a Railway servant during his suspension/deemed suspension.

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Standards Forms for use in disciplinary proceeding subject

SF-1 - Order of suspensionSF-2 - Order of deemed suspensionSF-3 - Certificate to be furnished by suspended Railway employeeSF-4 - Revocation of suspensionSF-5 - Charge sheet for major penaltySF-6 - Refusing of permission to inspect the documentsSF-7 - Appointment I.O/Board to InquirySF-8 - Appointment of presenting officerSF-9 - Not issued. SF-10 - Disciplinary action in common proceedingSF-10(a) - Appointment of inquiry officer in common proceedingSF-10(b) - Appointment of presenting officer in common proceeding charge sheet for

minor penalty.SF-11 - Charge sheet for minor penaltySF-11(b) -Charge sheet for initiation of minor penalty in case where inquiry is essential.SF-11(c) -For making disciplinary action for minor penalty where the charge sheet for

major penalty was initially issued.SF - 12 - Memorandum where action is proposed under Rule – 14(i)SF - 13 - Permission from president for action taking against the retired Railway

employee.SF - 14 - Charge sheet for retired Railway employee.

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Standard Form of Order of Suspension SF-1

No………………..(Name of Railway Administration……………………………..(Place of Issue)…………… Dated …………………………

ORDERWhereas a disciplinary proceeding against Shri…….. (name and designation of the Railway servant) is contemplated/pending.

Whereas a case against Shri ………….. (name and designation of the Railway servant) in respect of a criminal offence is under investigation/inquiry/trial

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Now, therefore, the President/the Railway Board/the undersigned (the authority competent to place the Railway servant under suspension in terms of the Schedules I, II and III appended to Railway Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1968/an authority mentioned in proviso to Rule 5(I) of the Railway Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1968 , in exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 4/proviso to Rule 5(I) of the Railway Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules , 1968 , hereby places the said Shri………. under suspension with immediate effect/with effect from ……………….

It is further ordered that during the period this order shall remain in force , the said Shri……………. shall not leave the head-quarters without obtaining the previous permission of the competent authority * (By order and in the name of the President)

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…………………………………………

(Signature) Name

Designation of the suspending authority. (Secretary, Railway Board, where Railway Board is the suspending authority)(Designation of the officer authorised under Article 77(2) of the Constitution to authenticate orders on behalf of the President , where the President is the suspending authority.)Copy to :-Shri …………… (name and designation of the suspended Railway servant). Orders regarding subsistence allowance admissible to him during the period of suspension will issue separately.

* Where the order is expressed to be made in the name of the President.

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Order Placing an officer under Suspension when he is Detained in Custody SF-2

(Rule 5(2) of Railway Servants (Disciplinary and Appeal) Rules 1968No………………..(Name of Railway Administration……………………………..(Place of Issue)…………… Dated …………………………

ORDERWhereas a case against Shri ………….. (name and designation

of the Railway servant), in respect of a criminal offence is under investigation.

And whereas the said Shri………………. was detained in custody on ………….for a period exceeding forty eight hours.

Now, therefore, the said Shri…….. is deemed to have been suspended with effect from the date of detention i.e. the …………in terms of Rule 5(2) of Railway Servants (Discipline and appeal) Rules, 1968 and shall remain under suspension until further orders.*(By order and in the name of the President)

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……..…………………………. (Signature)

(Name)Designation of the suspending authority.

(Secretary, Railway Board, where Railway Board is the suspending authority)(Designation of the officer authorised under Article 77(2) of the Constitution to authenticate orders on behalf of the President , where the President is the suspending authority.)

Copy to :-Shri …………… (name and designation of the suspended Railway servant). Orders regarding subsistence allowance admissible to him during the period of suspension will issue separately. * Where the order is expressed to be made in the name of the President

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Standard Form of Certificate to be furnished by suspended Official

SF-3

I, ………………….(name of the Railway servant), having been placed under suspension by Order No……………….. dated …….. While holding the post of ……… do hereby certify that I have not been employed in any business, profession or vocation for profit/remuneration/salary.

Signature……………………………..

Name of the Railway servant……….

Address………………………………..

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Standard Form of Order for Revocation of Suspension Order SF-4

No………………..

(Name of Railway Administration……………………………..

(Place of Issue)…………… Dated …………………………

ORDER

Whereas an order placing Shri ………….. (name and designation of the Railway servant), under suspension was made/was deemed to have been made by ………………… on ……………………

Now therefore, the President/the Railway Board/the undersigned ( the authority which made or is deemed to have made the order of suspension or any other authority to which that authority is subordinate)

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (c ) of sub-rule (5) of rule 5 of the Railway servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1968, hereby revokes the said order of suspension with immediate effect/with effect from ……………………..

* ( By order and in the name of the President )

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……..………………………………………. (Signature) (Name)

Designation of the authority making this order (Secretary, Railway Board, where the order is made by the Railway Board )

(Designation of the officer authorised under Article 77(2) of the Constitution to authenticate orders on behalf of the President , where the order is made by the President )

Copy to :-Shri …………… (name and designation of the suspended Railway servant).

* Where the order is expressed to be made in the name of the President

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Schedule of Disciplinary Powers and powers of suspension of different grades of Railway Officers and Senior Supervisors in respect of non-gazetted staff of Zonal Railways. RBE No. 46/2003

Senior Supervisors incharge in the pay scale of Rs. 4500-7000 and above (Described as Supervisors incharge by the Railway Administration for this purpose)

Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ staff in pay scales of upto and including Rs. 3200-4900 subject to report to Divisional Officer or Assistant Officer Incharge within 24 hours in the case of Group ‘C’ staff.

Assistant Officers (Juniors Scale and Group ‘B’)

Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ staff in pay scales of upto and including Rs. 4000-6000

Senior Scale Officers and Assistant Officers (Junior Scale and Group ‘B’ holding independent charge)

Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ staff in pay scales of upto and including Rs. 5000-8000

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Junior Administrative Grade Officers and Senior Scale Officers holding independent Charge or Incharge of a Department in the Division

Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ Staff

Additional Divisional Railway Managers in relation to the Departments attached to them or Divisional Railway Managers

Group‘D’ and Group ‘C’ Staff

Senior Administrative Grade Officers in the Zonal Railways’ Head Quarters in the pay scale of Rs. 18400-22400 including Principal Heads of Departments in the pay scale of Rs. 22400-24500.

Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ Staff

Additional General Managers in relation to Departments attached to them or Chief Administrative Officers or General Manager

Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ Staff

Railway Board Group ‘D’ and Group ‘C’ Staff

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SCHEDULE I (See Rule 4 and sub-rule(2) of Rule7) 

Item no.

Class of railway servant Authority empowerd to place a Railway servant under suspension or to impose penalties

Nature of penalties which the authority in column 3 is empowered to impose on Railway servants mentioned in corresponding entries in column 2 and powers of that authority to place them under suspension.

Appellate authority

1 2 3 4 5

 RESEARCH,DESIGNS AND STANDARDS ORGANISATION 

1.All classes of non-Gazetted Railway Servants including Group 'B' (non-gazetted ) staff.

Joint Director or Additional Director or Director or Additional Director General or Director General.

All penalties specified in Rule 6 and suspension

Next Higher authority to whom the authority in Column 3 is immediately subordinate

2. Group ‘D’ Staff and Group ‘C’ Staff except those in scale Rs 1600-2660(RS’86)

Deputy Director and others officers in Senior scale or equivalent

Penalties specified in item (i) to (vi) of Rule 6 and suspension

-do-

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3(a). Group ‘D’ staff Junior scale or Group ‘B officers, secretary to Director General, Asstt.Engineer(construction)

-do- -do-

3(b). 

Group ‘C’ staff in scale of pay upto and including Rs.1200-2040(RS’86)

-do- Penalties specified in items (i) to (v) of rule 6 and suspension

-do-

4. Group 'D' staff and Group 'C' staff in scale of pay rising upto Rs.1540 (RS'86)

Senior Supervisors in scale Rs. 1640-2900(RS'86) and above.

Penalties specified in items (i) to (iii-a) of Rule 6 and also suspension subject to report to Junior Scale or class II officer of the respective branch within 24 hours in the case of Group 'C' staff.

-do-

Item no.

Class of railway servant Authority empowered to place a Railway servant under suspension or to impose penalties

Nature of penalties which the authority in column 3 is empowered to impose on Railway servants mentioned in corresponding entries in column 2 and powers of that authority to place them under suspension.

Appellate authority