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Ajay Kumar Choudhary v. Union of India Thr. Its Secretary & Anr.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 1912 of 2015)Decided 16 Feb 2015
Civil Appeal No. 1912 of 2015
Justice Vikramajit Sen · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The appellant, a Defence Estate Officer, was suspended in September 2011 after it emerged that he had issued "No Objection Certificates" for land later found to actually belong to the Defence Estates; he admitted the mistake but denied any dishonest intent and blamed the error on his subordinate staff's incorrect office notes. His suspension was repeatedly extended for years without a formal chargesheet being served for a very long period, prompting him to challenge the indefinitely prolonged suspension before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that an indefinitely continuing suspension, without a chargesheet ever being served, offends the principles of human dignity and the right to a speedy process, drawing an analogy to Section 167(2) of the Cr.P.C., which limits how long an accused can be held in custody during investigation before a chargesheet is filed. The Court therefore laid down a general rule: a suspension order must not continue beyond three months unless a Memorandum of Charges/Chargesheet is served within that period, and if one is served, any further extension of suspension requires a reasoned order; it also noted that the government remains free to transfer the suspended employee to sever harmful contacts instead of relying on indefinite suspension. On the specific facts, since the appellant had since been chargesheeted, the Court held the new time-limit directions were not immediately relevant to him, but left him free to separately challenge his continued suspension, and disposed of the appeal without costs.

Lesson Learnt

A government employee cannot be kept under suspension indefinitely while a chargesheet is withheld, as a general rule, suspension cannot continue beyond three months without a chargesheet being served, and any extension after that must be backed by a reasoned order; this case established that enduring landmark limit on disciplinary suspensions.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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