SATISH KUMAR KUKREJA Vs. ADDITIONAL SECRETARY AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DISCIPLINARY inquiry under Rule 14 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 [CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965] was initiated against Shri Satish Kumar Kukreja, Assistant Commissioner in the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Regional Office, Lucknow, On 17.6.2008, the Vice Chairman of the KVS appointed Shri Inder Singh, retired Commissioner of Departmental Enquiries of the Central Vigilance Commission as Inquiry Officer in the disciplinary proceedings against Shri Satish Kumar Kukreja. Shri Kukreja challenged the appointment of a retired officer as Inquiry Authority in O.A. No. 1699/2008. During the course of the arguments in the aforesaid O.A., learned Counsel for both the parties agreed that there were conflicting views of various Benches of this Tribunal regarding appointment of a retired person as Inquiry Officer under CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, which are applicable to the employees of the KVS. The matter was, therefore, referred by the Division Bench to Larger Bench for, an authoritative pronouncement on this subject. That is how the case is before us.

(2.) THE rules which govern the conduct of disciplinary proceedings against the employees of the KVS would reveal that in Article 80 of the Education Code applicable, to the KVS, the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 have been made applicable mutatis mutandis to the employees of the KVS, Rule 80(a) is extracted below:

(3.) SECTION 3 of the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850 [1850 Act] reads thus: