Patna HC Upholds Order Setting Aside Bihar Clerk’s Suspension After State Fails To Prove Charge Memo Was Served Within 3 Months

The respondent, a clerk in the Office of the District Audit Officer, Cooperative Societies, was suspended by order dated 16 December 2022.

He challenged the suspension, contending that no charge memo had been served within the three-month period prescribed by Rule 9(7) of the Bihar Government Servants (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 2005.

The Single Judge allowed the writ petition, finding the charge memo defective under the 2017 Regulation and setting aside the suspension order, with a direction to pay arrears.

In the State’s appeal, the State asserted that the charge memo had been sent by email on the date of suspension, but produced neither the email nor evidence of timely service.

The record included a communication dated 7 August 2023 forwarding a further copy of the charge memo.

Rule 9(7) of the Bihar Government Servants (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 2005 requires charges to be framed within three months of an order of suspension; otherwise, the suspension stands revoked unless the competent authority renews it, recording reasons for delay, for a further period of four months.

The Bihar Framing of Article of Charge against Government Servant Regulation, 2017 requires a charge memo to contain four parts: the government servant’s personal information, the substance of the imputation, particulars of the misconduct, and the supporting documents and witnesses.

The State did not produce the charge memo or the asserted email of 16 December 2022 to establish that the charge had been served within three months.

The later communication of 7 August 2023 forwarding a further copy supported the inference that the charge memo had been sent only about eight months after suspension.

The Court held that, in the absence of evidence of timely service of a valid charge memo, the suspension could not be sustained under Rule 9(7).

It also upheld the Single Judge’s finding that the charge memo lacked required parts under the 2017 Regulation.

It directed compliance with the Single Judge’s order within three months from 5 November 2026 and disposed of any pending applications.