Law: Fundamental Rules

Section: 17,54A

(a)    Fundamental Rules-------F.R. 17 & 54A---Civil service---Disciplinary proceedings, pendency of--Promotion, declining of---Delay in holding departmental proceedings---Effect---Pro forma promotion---Scope---Record revealed that the petitioner (retired civil servant) faced departmental proceedings and ultimately the enquiry officer after conducting a through enquiry into the matter under the provisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Councils Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1980 found that the allegations levelled against him were under some misunderstanding and the same had not been proved; it was also recommended that he may be exonerated of the charges---Petitioner was not retired from service by the time enquiry report was submitted---Proceedings were initiated somewhere in the year 2014 and it took five long years to fix the responsibility and bring to book the delinquent person(s)/ officer(s)---Though the High Court would never give a clean chit to any delinquent officer/ official involved in a misconduct of any kind, however, in such a delayed process, many innocent officers/officials are deprived of their valuable rights including promotion---Under Fundamental Rule 54A, if a government servant, who has been suspended pending inquiry into his conduct attains the age of superannuation before the completion of inquiry, the disciplinary proceedings against him shall abate and such government servant shall retire with full pensionary benefits and the period of suspension shall be treated as period spent on duty---Similarly, under Fundamental Rule 17, if a civil servant, who is entitled to be promoted from a particular date, is for no fault of his own, wrongfully prevented from rendering service to the Federation in the higher post, such civil servant shall be granted pro forma promotion and be paid the arrears of pay and allowance of such higher post---Mere pendency of departmental proceedings should not be made hurdle in the matter of promotion---In the present case, after the petitioner had been exonerated by the Inquiry Officer, it took further nine months for the competent authority to disagree with the said report and…