Oral suspension and salary deduction orders of CM,Haryana,Naib Saini are not tenable legally.

GUSTAKHI MAAF HARYANA-
Pawan Kumar Bansal .
Are suspended official really ‘Errant’?

In a rash of rage, the oral orders of suspension of the officers of the Haryana Government by Mr. Naib Singh Saini, CM does not seem to fit into the right hole of the service rules and, therefore, cannot be apparently legally tenable.

One of our readers who has a fair amount of knowledge about rules and regulations controlling the service of officials in government service opined that CM’s action is not corresponding to certain service rules and viewed illegitimate in the light that (i) memorandum of warning to the officials was served in the first instance and/or their activities kept under watch for a certain period. Whether or not there was a prima-facie case for ordering suspension from service, the first requirement was to impose ‘Penalty of Censor’, followed otherwise as suspension by the controlling authority and endorsed by a higher or appellate authority. This is irrespective of the fact that Haryana CM himself happens to be in-charge of general administration. Procedures need to be followed if the CM wants to create an impeccable impression on public mind of an efficient administration and not shortcuts for gaining cheap methods for popularity.

Suspension from service brings disgrace to the official and dissuades him/her to perform better because not only the news spreads but also makes a lasting impression upon the career if a entry in red ink is made in the Service Book. Unless this period is treated as sine die, it may not count for qualifying service of the official. I don’t agree to certain hard-core officials that it hardly mattered in the previous cases w.r.t HCS, HCS to an IAS officer or even a direct recruit IAS. Suspension of officials en mass brings unpopularity to a CM or Minister in-Charge of a department whether it was Rao Narbir Singh’s issue of displaying bad temperament or Vij’s threatening postures, if the matter was trivial/minor. If an incident of suspension is not followed by a confirmed charge not even a minor penalty can be imposed necessitating immediate revocation of suspension. In these types of political outbursts, the act of suspension becomes meaningless and irrelevant for others, too. The crucial point is to see if the officer was found vigilant and pro-active or lacked qualities. The first action should be to replace him. Rules and regulations that control the service of a state official such as Classification, Control & Appeal Rules etc. need to be widely referred to in such instances as verbal issue of suspension orders. However, disobedience and dereliction of duty cannot be shrugged off but taken serious notice of.