Madan Mohan Vs Union of India (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Joint Controller General of Accounts (Administration) based on office order dated 3rd April 2018 is legal since MOF has only allocated work relating to all disciplinary matter to MOS and there is no sub-delegation of work.
Facts- The petitioner, who belongs to the Indian Civil Accounts Service, was issued a charge-sheet on 5 July 2018 by the Joint Controller General of Accounts (Vigilance), by order and in the name of the President of India, proposing to hold a disciplinary enquiry against him under Rule 14 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965.
The allegations in the charge-sheet pertained to the period during which the petitioner was working as Joint Controller General of Accounts (Administration) in the office of the Controller General of Accounts . For the purposes of the present judgment, and in view of the limited ground canvassed by the petitioner, it is not necessary to refer to the charges against him. Admittedly, the charge-sheet dated 5 July 2018 was, before it was issued to the petitioner, approved by the Minister of State (Finance).
Without submitting himself to disciplinary proceedings, the petitioner assailed the charge-sheet dated 5 July 2018, as well as the earlier Office Order dated 3 April 2018, issued by the DoE, to the extent it allocated, to the MOS, all powers to initiate disciplinary proceedings and pass final orders thereon. The petitioner contended that, as a Group A ICAS Officer, his disciplinary authority was the Union Minister of Finance, and that the Office Order dated 3 April 2018, to the extent it permitted the MOS to institute disciplinary proceedings in respect of Group A officers such as the petitioner, was illegal.
