Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In a significant legal development, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that authorities cannot dismiss a government employee without recording valid reasons for bypassing a departmental inquiry.
Justices Rajnesh Oswal and Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, while allowing an appeal from a police officer against his termination orders without due process, emphasised the necessity for authorities to adhere to legal procedures. Abdul Hamid Sheikh, the appellant, faced dismissal from service in 2019 amid allegations of having connections with militants. He served as a Personal Security Officer (PSO) and was accused of planning to pilfer weapons from fellow PSOs to supply them to militants.
Challenging his dismissal, Sheikh approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which, in turn, upheld the termination order, leading Sheikh to seek recourse in the High Court. His contention was that the authorities failed to follow proper procedure and denied him a fair chance to defend himself.
The respondents defended the dismissal, arguing the seriousness of the allegations made holding an inquiry impractical. However, the bench, citing legal precedents, stressed the distinction between the "necessity" and "practicability" of holding an inquiry, emphasising that authorities can only bypass an inquiry after recording valid justification for its impracticability.
In Sheikh's case, the court observed a glaring absence of such recorded satisfaction by the competent authority. Instead, the dismissal order lacked the necessary mention of the inquiry's impracticability as required under constitutional provisions. The court noted that dismissing an employee without a proper inquiry is a serious matter and cautioned against such actions.
"...authority can dispense with the inquiry but after recording satisfaction that there are sufficient reasons which make the holding of an inquiry not practicable. So far as the present case is concerned, the respondent No.3 has miserably failed to record its satisfaction that holding of an enquiry is not practicable due to certain circumstances," the court observed.
The Court further said: "The satisfaction to be recorded by the competent authority that holding of inquiry is reasonably not practicable due to some reason(s) is the constitutional obligation on the part of the competent authority before dismissing or removing or reducing the delinquent employee."
Highlighting the constitutional obligation on the competent authority to record satisfaction regarding the impracticability of an inquiry before taking drastic actions against an employee, the court quashed Sheikh's dismissal order due to procedural lapses. It directed authorities to reinstate Sheikh within three months while underscoring the importance of adhering to legal procedures, particularly in cases impacting public order and national security.
While Sheikh's reinstatement is mandated, the court clarified that the respondents are free to initiate fresh proceedings against him following proper legal procedures.
