Supervisory enquiry against municipal officials must strictly adhere to statutory rank and natural justice requirements.

The petitioner, an Executive Officer of Nagar Parishad, Sampatchak, was entrusted with the powers of Administrator

Following a complaint on the Chief Minister’s e-Compliance Dashboard, the Urban Development and Housing Department directed the District Magistrate (DM), Patna, to conduct an enquiry. The DM sub-delegated this to the Additional Collector, who submitted a report alleging financial irregularities, illegal appointments, and improper tax collection

Based on this report, the Department issued two orders on 30.06.2024: one directing the lodging of an FIR (Annexure-P/1) and another placing the petitioner under suspension and initiating departmental proceedings (Annexure-P/2)

The petitioner challenged these orders as being without jurisdiction and in violation of statutory procedures

1. Whether an enquiry conducted by an officer below the rank of Under Secretary, at the instance of a District Magistrate, satisfies the mandate of Sections 65, 66, and 67 of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007

2. Whether the order of suspension stood automatically revoked under Rule 9(7) of the Bihar CCA Rules, 2005, due to non-service of the charge-sheet within three months

Section 66 of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007, which stipulates that inspections into municipal affairs must be conducted by officers not below the rank of Under Secretary

The proviso to Section 67, which requires the State to provide a show-cause opportunity before directing municipal action

Rule 9(7) of the Bihar Government Servants (CCA) Rules, 2005, which mandates the revocation of suspension if a charge-sheet is not served within three months unless a reasoned extension is passed

Precedents included Ravi Yashwant Bhoir v. District Collector regarding municipal autonomy, Ajay Kumar Choudhary v. Union of India regarding the time-limit for suspension, and Kumar Ritik v. State of Bihar regarding unauthorized enquiries by District Magistrates

The Court found the enquiry patently illegal as the District Magistrate had no independent authority under the Bihar Municipal Act to probe municipal affairs; such power rests exclusively with the State Government

The Act permits delegation only to officers of a specific rank (Under Secretary/Deputy Secretary), whereas this enquiry was conducted by an Additional Collector, violating the principle of delegatus non potest delegare

The State failed to issue a mandatory show-cause notice under the Section 67 proviso and acted mechanically on an ex parte report

Regarding the suspension, the Court held that "drawing up" a charge-sheet is insufficient; it must be "served" upon the delinquent. Since the charge-sheet was sent after the three-month expiry and the Department later cancelled that communication, the suspension lapsed by operation of law on 01.10.2024

The respondents were directed to reinstate the petitioner immediately with all consequential benefits and back wages (after adjusting subsistence allowance) to be paid within eight weeks. The State was granted liberty to initiate a fresh proceeding following the proper statutory scheme under Sections 65-67 of the Act