CAT Directs Any Withheld Service And Financial Benefits For GST Superintendent Exonerated Of 13-Day Absence Charge

The applicant faced disciplinary proceedings under Rule 14 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, concerning alleged unauthorised absence from 3 to 15 August 2021. The original charge memorandum, dated 5 December 2022, was withdrawn on 22 April 2024, with liberty to issue a fresh charge memorandum. A fresh memorandum was issued on 27 June 2024, and an Inquiry Officer and Presenting Officer were appointed on 18 July 2024. The applicant filed this OA seeking to quash the fresh charge memorandum and appointments, and to obtain service and financial benefits retrospectively.

While the OA was pending, the Disciplinary Authority passed an order on 8 October 2026 exonerating the applicant; that order was placed on record before the Tribunal.

Whether, following the applicant’s exoneration by the Disciplinary Authority, any matter remained for adjudication in the OA.

Whether the applicant was entitled to service and financial benefits withheld because of the disciplinary proceedings.

Rule 14 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 governs the relevant disciplinary proceedings.

The Tribunal relied on Union of India v. K.V. Jankiraman, 1991 AIR 2010, in support of the applicant’s entitlement to service and financial benefits withheld due to the disciplinary proceedings, where the applicant had been exonerated.

The Disciplinary Authority’s order dated 8 October 2026 exonerated the applicant from the allegation underlying the fresh charge memorandum. In light of that order, the Tribunal held that no issue remained for adjudication concerning the challenge to the disciplinary proceedings.

Applying the principle it drew from K.V. Jankiraman, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant was entitled to any service and financial benefits withheld because of those proceedings.

There was no order as to costs.